Final Exam Review

Your final exam is on Wednesday, May 7th, from 9-11:30. The first half of the exam resembles the midterm--matching, short answer, i.d.'s.

The best way to study for the matching section is to determine the major themes and concerns of each piece, the structure employed, and the literary movement the pieces reflect. This line of study will also help with the short answer and i.d.'s. In addition, I would think about the major characters in each work, and how their actions reflect the primary thematic concerns of the work. The quotes from the i.d.'s will be ones that we have discussed in class.

The second half, worth 35 points of the total, is an essay. You may use your text for the essay, but must turn in the first half of the exam before starting the essay.

While you must write the essay in its entirety during the exam, I have no problem letting you in on the prompt ahead of time so that you might consider your options and develop a plan of action.

The prompt, then, as it reads on the final:

Part V. Essay. Worth 35 points.

In the recent edition of The Writer’s Chronicle (vol. 40, num. 6), author Steve Elliott has the following to say about the use of magical realism:

“When talking about a work of magical realist fiction…it might be helpful to ask whether the magical elements in the story are warranted. What in the story necessitates the move to magic? Why does the story need the supernatural” (46)?

Further on in the essay, Elliott quotes Carrie Brown, who suggests that, “‘the magic of a magical realist story must never be without emotional or psychological foundation’” (46).

In a critical essay (4-5 paragraphs), please choose one of the magical realist stories we read this semester and “test” it against the ideas suggested above. Does the work have a reason for the use of magic? Or is it “indulging in its magical flight to no purpose” (Elliott 46)?

Use specific examples from the text to support your argument. Consider, too, the tenets of magical realism we discussed in class as they apply, or don’t apply, to the text under analysis.

Emily Dickinson Lecture: The Poet and the Myth

Will the real Emily Dickinson please stand up?





Why is there a myth surrounding Dickinson and her work? Why must the poet herself be mythologized at all? What benefit comes of it?

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.