Dr. Alex E. Blazer	Course Site	Syllabus
	Study Questions	Discussion Board Repsonse
Exam Review	Research Paper	Final Exam

aSSIGNMENTS

American Literary Consciousness

English 312-01: American Literature II

Fall 2004, MWF 12:00-12:50PM, Life Sciences 101

Study Questions

It's easy to get behind in a fast-moving survey course. In order to actively keep up with the reading and prepare for class discussion, I suggest the following strategy:

1. Read the author biographies in the Norton anthology, for they often frame the themes of the selected texts.
2. Peruse anthology's companion website, The Norton Anthology of American Literature.
3. Take notes while you're reading, either in the margins or in a notebook (highlighting doesn't count).
4. Record at least three significant or favorite passages for each work.
5. Read your peers' discussion board responses on Blackboard.
6. Answer the study questions, which will typically be available the Friday before the work will be discussed. I suggest writing a short, informal response and citing key passages in the text that support your response.

Actively keeping up with the reading in this manner will serve you well on the exams and the final paper.

• Sarah Orne Jewett, "A White Heron"
  • What makes this a regional story? What are the hierarchical polarities that Jewett sets up in Sylvia's character as well as between Sylvia and the ornithologist?
• Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
  • Do a character sketch of Huck Finn. Who is he? What kind of person is he? What does he want out of life? Why does he do what he does? What does he fear?
  • Compare and contrast Huck's relationship with the Widow Douglas and with Miss Watson. Compare and contrast his relationship with Pap and with Jim. Does this have any relationship to the identities he assumes?
  • Compare and contrast Huck's shams with the Duke and Dolphin's and with Tom Sawyer's. What kind of morality does Huck have at the beginning of his story as compared to the end. What does the story suggest about the American brand of morality and civilization?
• Henry James, "Daisy Miller: A Study"
  • First, contrast James's narrator with Twain's. What kind of realism does James create as opposed to Twain? Second, characterize the Americans abroad, Daisy Miller and Frederick Wintermute. What particularly American issues of gender, class, and age does the story portray?
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wall-paper"
  • Despite the story's fantastical flourishes, it remains an example of realism. Why? At first glance, this story seems to be very straightforward and didactic, like Jewett's. What is the moral? On the other hand, it is also ambiguous. In what ways is its lesson ambivalent
• Kate Chopin, The Awakening
  • Day 1: Define Edna's awakening. What is she waking from and what is she awakening into? Define Edna's desire. How does it compare with Madame Ratignolle's or Mademoiselle Reisz's?
  • Day 2: Why does Edna make the choice that she does? Compare her choice with Daisy Miller's, Sylvia's in "A White Heron," and the narrator's in "The Yellow Wall-paper." What does this say about the role of women at the turn of the century? about women's literary imagination?
• Wallace Stevens
  • What is the relationship between reality and the imagination? between nature and culture? between physics and metaphysics? How does poetry compose reality?
• Hart Crane
  • Describe Crane's conflicted attitude toward America in The Bridge. What does he appreciate about our past? What does he criticize and valorize about the present modernity?
• Gertrude Stein
  • Introduction, The Making of Americans: What is "loving repetition"? Why does Stein repeat herself so much?
  • from Tender Buttons: How does Stein portray these "Objects" in her poetry? What, if anything, do we learn about these "Objects"?
• Claude McKay
  • What are roots? In McKay's mind—in McKay's poetry—how does his heritage affect his current cultural situation and vice versa?
• Richard Wright, "The Man Who Was Almost a Man"
  • What prevents Dave from being a man? How do family, race, and class emasculate Dave? Does Dave's environment cause him to make foolish decisions, or is he innately, as his mother says, a fool? Given Dave's reaction to the white and black folks laughter and his escape on the rails still wielding the gun, what kind of man do you think Dave will become?
• F. Scott Fitzgerald, "Babylon Revisited"
  • What were the Twenties like for Americas abroad? What are they like in the story's present time of the early Thirties? Contrast Charlie's past behavior, lifestyle, and world view with his present behavior, lifestyle, and world view.
• William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying
  • Day 1: Why is this story told from so many points of view? What is the effect of telling the story from so many perspectives? How does this narrative fragmentation correspond with the family disfunction? What is the significance of the title?
  • Day 2: Compare and contrast the Tyrones and the Bundrens, particularly in terms of the father and mother figures.
• John Berryman
  • What is Berryman's view of the world? What is Henry's view of the world? Why might Berryman create a poetic alter ego, and how does that alter ego effect the confessional tone of Berryman's poems?
• Sylvia Plath
  • Would you characterize Plath's poetry as confessional? What does she confess? Does she absolve herself, or asked another way, does she resolve anything?
• Allen Ginsberg
  • How does Ginsberg feel about American society in such poems as "Howl" and "A Supermarket in California"? How does he bridge a pre-modernist poet like Whitman with modernist poets like Frost and Stevens?
• Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
  • Compare and contrast the Lomans and the Tyrones. Stylistically and thematically, what is modern and what is postmodern about Death of a Salesman?
• Amiri Baraka, "Dutchman"
  • What is Baraka saying about African-American male identity? What is he suggesting about race relations? How and why does the drama play on both African-American and white stereotypes?
• Toni Morrison, "Recitatif"
  • What does the story suggest about race relations during childhood vs during adulthood? What does the story theorize about the nature of memory and, by extension, our postmodern identity?
• Robert Coover, "The Babysitter"
  • Delineate the story's multiple and opposing narratives. Why might the utilize these multiple perspectives? What does it suggest about the nature of reality and storytelling in postmodern culture?
• Thomas Pynchon, "Entropy"
  • What are entropy and equilibrium and how do they correspond to Meatball Mulligan's lease-breaking party and Callisto's dying bird? Why does Aubade break the window?
• Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
  • What are the narrator's issues with capitalism and consumerism? How does Tyler Durden seek to solve the problems of postmodernity? How might Tyler Durden worsen the problems?

Discussion Board Response

Blackboard Post: You will respond to a reading, and post your response to our course discussion board at Blackboard > Assignments > Article Summaries. The response should

• be formatted in Word or Rich-Text Format only according to the MLA styled template,
• be 2 double-spaced pages long,
• show your active engagement in the text's issues (don't simply summarize the text, tentatively analyze and interpret its meaning; if you've signed up for a poet, feel free to closely read just one or two poems),
• help your peers understand the text by pointing out key issues, and
• broach issues for class discussion.

Informal Presentation: You will also be responsible for a brief, informal presentation which introduces the key issues and possible themes of the text as you see them and also broaches issues for class discussion.

 

Due Dates:

1. Your discussion board response will be due in Blackboard > Assignments > Discussion Board Response on the Wednesday before we discuss an essay in class. If you do not submit your response to Blackboard before the text is discussed in class, you will fail the assignment.
2. Your brief, informal presentation will be due on the day we discuss the reading in class. This date is approximate for we sometimes fall a day behind.
3. I will return your graded response to you in Blackboard > My Grades > Discussion Board Response by the Friday of the week we discussed the article in class.
4. For example, we are scheduled to discuss James on Monday, 1-23. Therefore, Zachary Smith's summary will be due in Blackboard > Assignments > Discussion Board Response by Wednesday, 1-18. In class on Monday, 1-23, Zachary will informally present his reading of James' story.

Note: It is your responsibility to remember to post your response on time.

 

Blackboard Due Date	Presentation Due Date (approximate)	Reading	Student
M, 1-16	W, 1-18	Twain	Reed Troutman
W, 1-18	M, 1-23	James	Zachary Smith
	W, 1-25	Gilman	Laura Whitworth
W, 1-25	M, 1-30	Chopin	Mia Coleman
			Nicole Mitchell
W, 2-1	M, 2-6	Stevens	Jessica Osborne
	W, 2-8	Crane	Dorothy Cochran
			Megan Freedman
W, 2-8	M, 2-13	Stein	Thomas Decker
W, 2-15	M, 2-20	McKay	Brian Young
	W, 2-22	Wright	Dee Amber Jasin
		Fitzgerald	none
W, 2-22	M, 2-27	Faulkner	Malloree Collins
			Sarah Elise Williams
W, 3-1	M, 3-6	O'Neill	Matthew J. Smith
			Kristin Metzger
W, 3-8	none	none	none
W, 3-15	M, 3-20	Berryman	Alex Durall
	W, 3-22	Plath	James Gandenberger
W, 3-22	M, 3-27	Ginsberg	Jessica Wilkinson
	W, 3-29	Miller	Sarah Calhoun
			Jesse Houk
W, 3-29	M, 4-3	Baraka	Magen Miller
			Ben Unwin
	W, 4-5	Morrison	Samantha Lowery
W, 4-5	M, 4-10	Coover	Jennifer McIlwain
			Laura Wells
	W, 4-12	Pynchon	Kevin Metcalf
			Jessica Santos
W, 4-12	M, 4-17	Palahniuk	Jonathan Brett
			Simon Sangpukdee

Review for In-Class Exam

The first exam will consist of two essays answered in one 75 minute class period. Each of the essays will ask you to discuss a literary period or theme by using authors and texts from the course. THe goal of the exam is for you show your understanding of literary periods and the transition between periods by being able to make comparisons and contrasts among works of literature. Although you will not have to write about every author we have covered, you should be prepared to effectively discuss more than half of them:

1. Sarah Orne Jewett, "A White Heron"
2. Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
3. Henry James, "Daisy Miller: A Study"
4. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wall-paper"
5. Kate Chopin, The Awakening
6. Wallace Stevens, poetry
7. Hart Crane, poetry
8. Gertrude Stein, from The Making of Americans and Tender Buttons

If I were preparing for this exam, I would create and review a separate page of notes for each period and movement consisting of the following:

• lists the time period's major socio-cultural concerns
• notes how the movement reacts to its time period in terms of its own literary issues
• charts the paramount literary style as well as the intent or reasoning for that approach

I would also create and review a page of notes for each author consisting of the following:

• for stories, chart the main characters' core conflicts and actions; for poems, note the core conflicts
• note the key conflicts and themes
• determine how the author/text complements and transgresses the period or movement
• select signicant passages that represent the core conflicts and theme (if you cannot memorize them, being able to paraphrase will be of invaluable help on the exam)

Although you could simply review your original class notes, I advise composing these set of notes for doing so attunes your thinking and writing process to the cause of the exam in a much more active way than using old notes. Constructing notes is prewriting for the essay exam.

Research Paper

You've explored authors and their works in study questions and class discussion. You've come to general conclusions about the nature of the period in the midterm exam; and you will do so again in the final exam. Now, you can devote an entire paper to one author, to one work. Select a work of literature (or two or three closely related poems, or short stories) that we've read in class. See me if you want to pursue a text not covered. In a focused, thesis-driven paper, rigorously interpret and analyze that piece using specific textual evidence (i.e., quotes) and literary research (3-4 scholarly journal articles, books, or book chapters) to support your argument. Although this is a research paper, the emphasis should be on your ideas, your way of reading the text; the research is necesary but of secondary importance: do not let it overwhelm your voice. I'll be glad to discuss paper topics with you at any time.

• Length: 6-8 pages
  • Your paper will be penalized one-third of a letter grade if it does not end at least halfway down on the sixth page while implementing 12 pt Times New Roman font, double-spacing, and 1" margins. If it does not end at least halfway down on the fifth page, it will be penalized two-thirds of a letter grade.
• Style: MLA style
• One-third of a letter grade will be deducted for problems in each of the following two categories: 1) margins and 2) font size/style and line-spacing. Before you turn in a formal paper, make sure your work follows MLA style by referring to my FAQ on papers and using the checklist on the MLA style handout.
• You may turn in your paper either as a paper copy in class or electronically to Blackboard > Assignments > Paper. If you submit your paper electronically, it must be formatted in either Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works, OpenOffice, or Rich-Text Format.
  • Here are MLA style templates for Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works, OpenOffice, and Rich-Text Format.
• Due Date
• You may turn in your paper anytime between Wednesday, March 29 and Wednesday, April 12.
  • I am affording this two week due date range so that those students who want to analyze a postmodern text will have more class discussions in mind as they research.
  • If you have have concerns about writing a research paper and two weeks later writing an exam, then you should turn in your research paper at the beginning of the due date period.
  • I will return graded papers approximately one week after submission. If you want feedback regarding your standing in the course before April 19, that is, before starting the second, take-home exam, then you should turn in your paper at the beginning of the due date period.
• If you do not submit a paper copy to me in class, you must submit an accessible electronic copy to me in Blackboard > Assignments > Short Paper by 11:59PM Wednesday, April 12, otherwise your paper will be considered late until you submit it to Blackboard and a late penalty will be applied to your paper grade.
• Grade: You will be assessed on your understanding of the text, your ability to analytically interpret the text, your thesis, and your use of scholarly criticism to support your analysis.
  • Your graded assignment will be returned approximately one week after you submit it.
    • If you turned it in on paper, it will be returned to you in class.
    • If you turned it in electronically, you can retrieve it in Blackboard. (Click here for instructions.)

Take-Home Final Exam

While the first exam required you to examine six authors across two literary movements in a timed, closed book setting, the take-home final exam allows you one week to formulate your comparative discussion of four authors using the textual evidence an open book exam affords. Answer either two essay questions from Group A or just one essay question from Group B. Use an individual author only once in the exam. Organize essays by argument and analysis. Have a controlling idea, an interpretation, a thesis that bridges the authors. Support your points with textual evidence (explanation, paraphrase, and/or quotes) but avoid plot summary. Make connections and distinctions between the texts; in other words, compare and contrast the authors and their world views.

• Group A: Two Essays Using Two Authors Each
  • Modernist-Postmodernist Genre Study: Compare and contrast the worldviews and forms of one modernist and one postmodernist regarding one genre—fiction, poetry, or drama. For example, compare and contrast one modernist play (O'Neill's), in terms of theme and style, with one postmodernist play (Miller's or Baraka's). Or, you could do fiction (Faulkner vs Morrison or Fitzgerald vs Palahniuk). Or, you could do poetry (Stevens vs Berryman or Crane vs Ginsberg). The important thing to do is compare and contrast the authors in terms of the themes and style of their respective periods.
  • Identity and Individuality: Compare and contrast how two authors we've read since the last exam view identity and individuality. You could, for instance, compare and contrast O'Neill’s view of traumatized and addicted identity realized with Miller's (dis)illusioned identity and Baraka’s use and abuse of stereotypical identity. Or, you could contrast Berryman and Plath’s confessional identity with Ginsberg’s. Or, you could make an interesting combination of your own.
  • Sexual Dynamics: Compare and contrast the sexual dynamics or gender battles and identities in the works of two authors we've read since the last exam. You could, for instance, compare and contrast the fantastical yet embattled status of women in Coover, Plath, and/or Baraka. Or, you could compare and contrast the idea of masculinity in Miller, Wright, and/or Palahniuk. Or, you could implement an interesting comparison and contrast of your own.
  • Reality: Compare and contrast how modernist and postmodernist authors view and represent reality. You must use one modernist whom we've read since the last exam and one postmodernist. While the modernists see and represent fragmentation and the void, the postmodernists revel in the image and the imaginary. Determine an interesting comparison and contrast of how modernists and postmodernists see and portray reality. For instance, Faulkner breaks up reality into multiple points of views while Palahniuk and Miller throw reality to the wind. Wright suggests that reality is an onslaught, Baraka views reality as politicized in terms of race, class, and gender while Ginsberg sees the madness undergirding conformity.
  • A Theme of One's Own: Examine a theme to two authors who we've read since the last exam. For example, you could examine the use and abuse of psyche in O'Neill, Morrison, and/or Palahniuk. Or you could analyze a theme of your choosing.
• Group B: One Essay Using Four Authors
  • American Literature II : Using four authors (one realist/regionalist, one modernist whom we've read since the last exam, and two postmodernists), discuss how American literature has changed thematically and formally since 1865 by tracing, i.e., comparing and contrasting, how a single topic is treated over the last 140 years. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, race, gender, reality, representation, identity. Possible questions include, but are not limited to: How do racial issues change from Twain's time to Morrison’s? How do gender roles and/or sexual dynamics change from Chopin to Baraka? What transformations does the American family undergo from Chopin to Coover? How does the nature of identity change from Gilman to Palahniuk? How do the representation of reality and reality of representation evolve from realism, through modernism, and to postmodernism? You may also trace an interesting issue of your own choosing.

• Length: 6-8 pages
  • Write either 3-4 pages each for both essays in Group A, or 6-8 pages for the only essay in Group B.
• Style: Conform your paper to MLA style.
• Here are MLA style templates for Corel WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works, OpenOffice, and Rich-Text Format.
• Due: Wednesday, April 26
• Late Penalty: Exams will be penalized one letter grade for each day they are turned in late. However, if I cannot read your exam by Friday, April 28, for whatever reason, you will fail the exam and the course.
• Format: I'll accept exams in hard copy or electronic format.
• Paper
• Turn in by 5:00PM to my mailbox in Bingham Humanities Bldg 315 or by 7:30PM to me in my office in Bingham Humanities Bldg 335A (I'll be in my office from 4:30-7:30PM).
• Note: I will not accept hard copies of assignments submitted after 7:30PM. If you turn in your assignment after this time, you must do so via Blackboard. I will use the time and date stamp to determine if late penalties are warranted.
• Electronic
• Turn in via Blackboard. (Click here for instructions.)
• Note: If you have problems with Blackboard, you may email your assignment to me as an attachment.
• Grade: You will be assessed on your critical and analytical understanding of 1) the four authors covered, 2) modernism and postmodernism, 3) connections and distinctions among the authors and periods.
  • You can access your course grade via Ulink or the Registrar after Sunday, April 30. I do not put course grades in Blackboard.
  • If you would like your exam to be returned to you with comments, you must specifically ask for it to be returned to you with comments.
    • If you turned it in on paper, email me to set up a time to retrieve it.
    • If you turned it in electronically, you can retrieve it in Blackboard after Sunday, April 30. (Click here for instructions.)