Essay #2

Essay #2 is due on Wednesday, April 9th. Choose from one of the three essay prompts below. You may also develop a prompt of your own, but please run the idea by me first.

1) Compare the notion of the Romantic hero in Goethe' FAUST and the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Consider how the desire for knowledge and experience, and the extremes of ecstasy and despair inform these works.

2) Both NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND and THE FATE OF THE COCKROACH satirize human absurdities and pretensions. In both works, the Underground Man and the cockroaches face the meaninglessness of their existence. Discuss how these works explore the human condition.

3) Lorca's "Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias" and Tolstoy's THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH both mourn and commemorate the death of someone. Consider how the works reflect on larger, human issues.

Your paper should be 4-6 pages long, and should incorporate quotes from the texts as support. You should create a bold, unique thesis as well. Remember, the prompts above are only suggestions of where to begin thinking about these texts.

As always, your paper should have 1 inch margins all around and should be typed in Times Roman 12 pt font. You do not need any outside research for this paper, but if you DO use another source, please cite it appropriately within the paper and in a Works Cited page as well.

Midterm Review

Your midterm is on Monday, March 10 and will cover all of our readings up to Emily Dickinson. The exam will consist of short answers, matching, identifications, and a brief analysis of a poem.

Here's how I might go about studying for each of the sections...

MATCHING: Below are some key terms you should be familiar with. Identify which works are linked to each term as you study for this exam.

Travel narrative
slave narrative
Noble Savage
Narrative Truth vs. Objective Truth
Enlightenment
Optimism
Picaresque novel
Mono no aware
sabi
joruri
giri
ninjo
Romanticism
Classicism
teufelspakt
Realism
Rationalism/Humanism
Free will
Frame narrative

SHORT ANSWER: Determine what are the essential questions asked of the reader in each work. For example, NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND asks us to consider the importance of free will in a person's life, while FAUST asks us to see the value of a life composed of "deeds" rather than philosophy. If you can come up with essential questions for all the works, you should be able to respond to the short answer section readily.

ID's: As for the ID's, I'll choose important quotes from he texts. They won't be arbitrary selections, but rather quotes in which a theme is revealed. These will be quotes we will have talked about in class. You'll have to identify the speaker and the situation.

POEM ANALYSIS: When asked to analyze the poem in the exam, make sure to consider all the elements of the poem: subject, theme, argument, structure/form, key images, and other effects (puns, allusions, sound, rhyme).

"...hurrah for the underground!"

Fyodor Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground represents yet another shift in thinking in the 19th century. We've gone from Voltaire's pragmatism, to Goethe's eternal striving, to Dostoevsky's view that there was more to man than reasoning, striving and enlightenment. Dostoevsky was deeply religious (Russian Orthodox) and felt that European intellectualism (like Goethe's and Voltaire's) left no room for individuality, and was ultimately, a pipe-dream.

So, we have one of the first anti-heroes in literature, the unnamed Underground Man of our story. Part One, which you will have read for Friday, is a philosophical rant, so to speak. The Underground Man is despicable, and yet pitiable. Part Two is an easier-to-read narrative, describing a set of experiences that bring the ideas of Part One to life.

Please visit this study guide and try to answer the questions as you read. The reading can be a bit dense, but I've found this to be a good, general guide on Dostoevsky's ideas.

You'll note, as you read, a few images that seem to stand out: the anthill, the piano keys, mathematical tables, and the Crystal Palace. They each are symbolic of the problems with intellectualism in Dostoevsky's time.

The Crystal Palace is a really neat one. It was built in the 1800's and was considered a marvel of its age. To the right is a picture. Consider: what might be the philosophical problem with building and living in such a structure? Why might Dostoevsky be opposed to such a building?

Blake's Art and Poetry

Look at the art that accompanied some of William Blake's most famous poems. Do the images correspond with the ones in your imagination? What does the combination of both poetry and art do for the poem?

Poor Gretchen? Quiz #2

Poor Gretchen. She's been through hell (ha, ha.). The Gretchen tragedy makes up the heart of FAUST, and is what the play is typically known for. Gretchen has inspired art and music, most notably, Schubert's Gretchen am Spinnrad, or Grethen at the Spinning Wheel. You can hear a classical version of this, using Goethe's words from lines 3374-3413 here. Just scroll down to number 11.

There is also an awful electronica version of the song if you are bold enough to try it.

Gretchen is drawn in such a way that we instantly feel sympathy for her. The question for you is to analyze how this happens.

Quiz #2

While most readers agree that Gretchen is a sympathetic figure, the fact is that deaths of her brother and mother are her fault. And, she is carrying an illegitimate child, too. So why do we feel sorry for her? What techniques has Goethe employed to create this sympathy?

Answer the question, as always, in a well-developed paragraph. Refer to the text. Bring to class on Friday.

Tips for Essay #1

Essay number one is a comparison and/or contrast paper, which makes thesis building tricky at times. The thing to remember about this kind of paper is that your thesis must not simply compare and/or contrast elements in the two texts. It must go BEYOND that to SUGGEST SOMETHING ABOUT THE TEXTS.

Here is an example of a bad thesis:

There are many similarities between OROONOKO and AMIJIMA. Both protagonists fall in love, both sacrifice themselves and their lovers for a greater good, and both have to face "villains" who try to dishonor them.


While all of those ideas are well and good, the thesis above does not rise beyond a simple comparison. An analogy might be if I tell you that FAUST is a lot like HARRY POTTER, but then don't explain why that's an important thing to mention. You'd think I was wasting your time with a pointless exercise in comparison and contrast.

A better thesis might read like this:

The suicides in OROONOKO and AMIJIMA occur among couples who are victims of society. This suggests that death was the only satisfying alternative for the lovers.

This thesis is a bit better in that it seems to argue something that is suggested by the comparisons the paper will then make.

Other tips:
Write in present tense. Literature does not disappear when the book closes.
Aim for at least one quote per paragraph.

Socratic Seminar #1: What is Love?

The unexamined life is not worth living.--Socrates

For our first Socratic seminar, our essential question deals with concepts of love, as well as ways that authors have defined manhood, womanhood, duty and passion. The seminar should cover everything we've read so far. You will be graded on both the questions you generated before class and on your participation.

Here are some guidelines for preparing your questions, taken from Studyguide.org. You must prepare TWO of each type of question.

WORLD CONNECTION QUESTION: Connects the text to the real world.

Example: What lengths would you go to to rescue the one true love of our life?

OPEN-ENDED QUESTION: an insightful question about the text that will require proof
and group discussion and "construction of logic" to discover or explore the
answer to the question.

Example: Why was Candide so gullible?

UNIVERSAL THEME/ CORE QUESTION: a question dealing with a theme(s) of the text that will encourage group discussion about the universality of the text.

Example: How do each of the texts reflect mono no aware?

LITERARY ANALYSIS QUESTION: a question dealing with HOW an author
chose to compose a literary piece. How did the author manipulate point of
view, characterization, poetic form, archetypal hero patterns, for example?

Example: What is symbolic about the gardens at the beginning and end of CANDIDE?

Guidelines for Participants in a Socratic Seminar

1. Refer to the text when needed during the discussion. A seminar is not a test of memory. You are not "learning a subject"; your goal is to understand the ideas, issues, and values reflected in the text.

2. It's OK to "pass" when asked to contribute.

3. Do not participate if you are not prepared. A seminar should not be a bull session.

4. Do not stay confused; ask for clarification.

5. Stick to the point currently under discussion; make notes about ideas you want to come back to.

6. Don't raise hands; take turns speaking.

7. Listen carefully.

8. Speak up so that all can hear you.

9. Talk to each other, not just to the leader or teacher.

10. Discuss ideas rather than each other's opinions.

11. You are responsible for the seminar, even if you don't know it or admit it.

Expectations of Participants in a Socratic Seminar

When I am evaluating your Socratic Seminar participation, I ask the following questions about participants. Did they….

Speak loudly and clearly?
Cite reasons and evidence for their statements?
Use the text to find support?
Listen to others respectfully?
Stick with the subject?
Talk to each other, not just to the leader?
Paraphrase accurately?
Ask for help to clear up confusion?
Support each other?
Avoid hostile exchanges?
Question others in a civil manner?
Seem prepared?