Consider this a reminder to be getting Conrad's Heart of Darkness.  You will need it before Thanksgiving.

But don't wait until next week to take a look at these pictures; the link may be broken by then:

Images of Ivory Before It Was Destroyed

On the Cusp of the Crush

U. S. Crushes Ivory

TODAY IN CLASS
Group work on Part II questions (and-out of questions for all three parts was given out on Friday).  NOT handed in; however, we went over selected portions.

Regarding question 6, most people seemed uncertain about the apples.  Note that what follows is not a "certainty" for Kafka's intention, but is a widely regarded interpretation of potential meaning here:

• Apple = associated with concept of "sin" because of the widespread Western use of "apple" as the fruit in the Garden of Eden account (Genesis), at least from the early Middle Ages forward
• Act of father pitching apples at the son = a transference of guilt/sin.  Much like a sacrificial animal that was meant to take on the sin of the sacrificer (thus relieving that person from guilt/sin--a "scapegoat"--the father's sin is foisted off onto Gregor.  This much could be shared by many ancient cultures and religions.
• Added Christian symbolism (though Kafka was Jewish, he was brought up in strongly Catholic Prague, and various writings of his draw on other traditions)--What is the role of the events of Easter?  How does the concept of sacrifice carry over into New Testament terms?  How would this work for Gregor? 

Note to 1st period--later (Wednesday) I'll show you a translation that does more to nudge readers toward this interpretation.

Note to 5th period--we jumped briefly to the end of Part III in 1st period, knowing that we would come back to some of the pieces in between.  But DO look closely at the ending, and think through Grete's posture and movements in the last sentence of the story.  What does she remind you of? (still think in the insect world, but not a dangerous or repulsive one).  What is the life cycle of such insects?  What has happened to Grete (and her parents) as the result of Gregor's transformation?  What all could the story mean?

TO EVERYONE, yes, "Metamorphosis"will be on tomorrow's test despite not being officially/thoroughly finished.  If you read Part III over the week-end as was assigned on Friday, you should be fine for tomorrow.

TEST ON TUESDAY
More precisely, you will have 1/3 of the short fiction assessment tomorrow.  It will involve recognizing a whole list of elements (people/places/events/random details) from the short fiction:
John Steinbeck,  "Chrysanthemums"
Katherine Mansfield, "Miss Brill"
D. H. Lawrence, "Rocking-Horse Winner"
James Joyce, "Araby"
John Updike, A & P"
Katherine Anne Porter, "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"
James Baldwin, "Sonny's Blues"
Elizabeth Berg, "The Matchmaker"
Bernard Malamud,"The Magic Barrel"
Franz Kafka, "The Metamorphosis"

In addition to the GradeCam section, there will be a small group of short focussed questions or tasks the will required a written response.  All together, this day's assessment will be about 1/3 of the whole.

ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS
These will be due the week after Thanksgiving, either Wednesday and Friday or Thursday/Friday.
You will know the topics on Wednesday, so if you're in town you can work, but they should be able to be accomplished starting Monday after Thanksgiving.
These will be two essays--one fairly prescriptive, and the other with much more writer's choice flexibility.

ALSO, not related to the test--
Have Heart of Darkness when you get back.  You can limp along a day or two, but not much.

TODAY IN CLASS
Rotation discussion (pairs mostly; a couple of 3's) of the questions following the Berg and Malumud stories in Chapter 8.  People who had prepared the "Matchmaker" questions were paired with those who had prepared the questions at the end of  "The Magic Barrel." However, we rotated pairs every five minutes or so.  The reading, questions, and discussion will culminate in the assignment due on Thursday (see below).

FOR TOMORROW
Use this copy ONLY for your reading.  Translations vary, and I want everyone to have utilized the same thing.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5200/5200-h/5200-h.htm

Read Section I.  In your notes, keep track of three general areas:
1) What happens to Gregor's senses (sensory perceptions) during the course of Part I
2) What happens to "communication" during the course of Part I--be sure to consider it a 2-way process (perception and production)
3) Assess characteristics of specific family members in terms of their responses to Gregor during Part I

DUE ON THURSDAY
A typed, cohesive paper responding to the "Excercise" instructions on p. 397 of Perrine.
Assessment points (not "assignment").

TODAY IN CLASS
First period went over the Baldwin excerpt in groups; 3rd will do that tomorrow (or possibly Wednesday).

Also today--some reading time for a headstart on tonight's homework:
Perrine Chapter 8--Evaluating Fiction (394-397)

Two stories follow this section, both dealing with the general subject of matchmaking:
Elizabeth Berg, "The Matchmaker" (398-408)
Bernard Malamud, "The Magic Barrel" (409-423)

In class, you were assigned (according to new seating arrangement) to start one or the other of these stories.

FOR HOMEWORK TONIGHT--do both bullet points.

• Finish the one you started in class, and write careful notes responding to the questions following that story (p. 408 for Berg; pp.423-424 for Malamud)
• THEN, just read the other story.  (You're welcome to glance over the questions, of course, but no written responses necessary.)

This work will be utilized in class tomorrow.

ALSO--bring your ID card with you.  You'll be picking up Metamorphosis from the bookroom.

TODAY IN CLASS
The second day on the passages from "Sonny's Blues."  I thought we might finish, but people are finding good things to say about each passage.  Be sure that everyone notes the definition of MOTIF, a recurring element (idea, thing, pattern of imagery, even repetitive actions, and more) that occur throughout a literary work.  We're in the process of listing quite a few for Baldwin's story--continue thinking of them on your own beyond what we might have done in your particular section today.

FOR TOMORROW
1st period time line folks, please try to get that on the board before class officially starts.
Map people in both classes, please be prepared to share briefly.

Everyone in both classes--please read passages 10 and 11.  If it's been awhile since you read the story, it's worth re-reading the whole Greenwich Village part at the end of the story. I will still pause briefly for in-class annotations, and I'll expect some additions as we talk, but though this section is essential to our work with the story, I do want you to be as concise as possible in our discussion without losing insight into this key portion. 

During class--
1) the passages
2) one MC passage you'll do on your own
3) group discussion and a "group version" of the same passage


AND BEYOND
If you don't have Heart of Darkness yet, be acquiring it posthaste.  Next week you will get Metamorphosis, which will come from the bookroom.   But we'll get started on Heart of Darkness the Tuesday/Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

FRIDAY IN CLASS
"A & P"--Good start on discussion; not completed. 

FOR TUESDAY
Starting premise:  The groups have been moved one slot ahead, but there will be more specific directions in a moment, and one group will be shifted away from the basic rotation.  But the new group designations simply using the book elements as they are in Perrine looks like this:
1 -- Point of View
2 -- Symbol/Allegory/Fantasy
3 -- Humor and Irony
4 --  Plot and Structure
5 -- Characterization
6 -- Theme

Now, here is what you need to do for Tuesday. All of the following apply to Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" (179-207) assigned over several days last week.  For the groups that need to write a short analysis (one or two paragraphs should suffice), typing is preferable, but neatly written in ink is okay too. 

1 - POV.
Pick a substantial paragraph from the story that you think is significant in illustrating something important about "how" the first person functions in this story.  You get to select what is significant.  Do not try to copy out the paragraph, of course, but DO indicate the page number(s).

2 - Symbol/Allegory/Fantasy
For Tuesday, I don't want you to think just yet in terms of "symbol."  Instead, consider the concept of a motif:  basically, an element that recurs significantly throughout a narrative.   A motif can be a thing, an image, idea, situation, or action that recurs or is restated in similar ways throughout the work. A motif can have symbolic meaning, of course, but at this point just look for recurring elements that thread throughout the work.  (In Macbeth, for example. blood would be a common motif, along with sleep, clothing, light/dark imagery, and more.) So, for "Sonny's Blues," everyone in this group needs to prepare two lists for Tuesday;  all references to ice for one (include contextual phrase) and then ONE OTHER MOTIF of your choice.  These can be in the form of lists, accompanied by page and paragraph number). 

3 -Humor and Irony
There may be a touch of humor here or there, but most readers would probably agree that there's not much humor in Baldwin's story.  Irony, however, can be found in several ways.  Identify and briefly analyze some element of irony in the story.

4 - Plot and Structure
As usual, you aren't supposed to rehash the plot.  Structure, however, is huge in this story.  What you need to do for Tuesday is prepare a timeline.  Do the homework preparation simply in the form of a straightforward list (vs a horizontal line) that you'll either have to scribble out as a hand-written draft and then copy over neatly once you've got it all in the right order, OR type it, knowing you can add in as needed. Your choice.  But the key thing is, do ALL YOU CAN to include dates (years) with the events of the story (narrated as ongoing action, narrated as something which had occurred earlier, or narrated as flashbacks provided by another character).

5 - Characterization
We see Sonny mostly through the narrator's eyes.  Find a passage in which you think we (as readers) are able to see Sonny most clearly in the most accurate light and explain how that is achieved. 

6 - Okay.  This is the big change.  "Theme" will be deferred until later, and the Plot/Structure people already have plenty to do for Tuesday.  So Group 6, for this story, you will get us started on Setting. 

• First consider TIME--for your purposes, the time frame of the "main story" (starting on the day that the narrator reads about Sonny's arrest and ending with the club gig in Greenwich Village).  When is this?  What are the implications?  You don't need to write up anything formal for this part, just be prepared to talk about it.
• But consider the PLACE setting in detail:  New York.  What borough?  What particular locations?  Find a map.  Print it out.  Mark place names/implied settings on the map.  Have something with you in class on Tuesday to compare with the findings of your group. (Start thinking about the "so what"'s involved in this exercise.)
• Just as a quick thought--what conjectures do you have about the unnamed setting in which the narrator's uncle was hit by a car? (nothing in writing required)

TODAY IN CLASS If you were absent, be sure to read a second poem by Emily Dickinson, "I heard a Fly buzz--when I died" (888). Consider all the ways that the poem could connect with the last page and a half (293-294) of "Granny Weatherall." Students wrote and shared multiple theme statements for this story; probably a reading of Porter's work needs to explore both commentary on the nature of death as well as insights about living living a life. The most difficult aspect is considering the place of theological claims in terms of the meaning of the story as a whole.
 FOR TOMORROW
 Prepare for an active, moving, student-driven discussion of "A & P." As announced in class, the group numbers are again shifting to the next element of fiction. However, the follow-up information suggests the direction to head for a fairly direct treatment of highlights in Updike's story. Here are the categories and "this-story-only" narrowing:

Group 1 -- Theme Ideas churning around in the story; what is being explored? What else is important besides Sammy? To what extent is he a channel for Updike's view about_________ (fill in the blank).

Group 2 -- Point of View Of course it's 1st person. But hone in on all the ways it operates differently in this story than in Joyce's.

Group 3 -- Symbols/Allegory/Fantasy What happens if you consider this story a QUEST? What is being sought? What is found instead?

 Group 4 -- Tone/Style/Humor/Irony You might wind up covering some of the same ground as the POV people, but that's okay. For this section, however, try to focus on LANGUAGE as style. Also explore humor and irony as elements in this story; how do they function (whether separately or in tandem)?

Group 5 -- Plot/Structure and Setting Focus on the Setting part, and the significance thereof. How is time important? Re: place, what's important besides the grocery store? What other settings are a factor in the story and its meaning?

 Group 6 -- Characterization Not "what a character is like"--but"how" characterization is accomplished. Work with Sammy for sure plus two other characters (your choice).

 All of this needs to be prepped in easily accessible ways in your notes--have the relevant "data" handy to incorporate into solid discussion.
 AND--do not forget that by now you should have read the introductory matter for each element of fiction covered in Chapters 2-7.

TODAY IN CLASS We finished the text of "Granny Weatherall," but we did not resolve how "what happens" relates to the meaning of the work as a whole. In other words, what seemed at first glance to be a determinate ending probably isn't. So we need to consider thematic ideas and the ultimate point of the story. If you missed class, read the Emily Dickinson poem "Because I could not stop for Death" (764 in your book) and consider what part of Porter's story it might help elucidate. FOR TOMORROW So yes, keep thinking about the story . . . probably more at the percolating in your mind level than poring over the text. "A & P"--assuming you read it over the week-end or at least earlier in the week, and if you engaged in Tuesday's task of comparing/contrasting to "Araby" (mentally at the very least, or hopefully with some notes in your, umm, English notebook)then you shouldn't have to do anything with that tonight. So the real homework is to keep reading and hopefully FINISH "Sonny's Blues"; there are significant sections of that story that will probably need to be re-read over the next 2-3 school days, but a first reading is still essential. And by Thursday that should have happened. (See previous blog for page numbers. And I'm sorry about no Tuesday post--directions re: theme in GW and how Updike's story is similar to/different from Joyce's had been fairly clearly outlined in class, and I just didn't write it up.

TODAY IN CLASS
"Granny Weatherall" is progressing slowly,  The barebones story is clear to everyone:  an old woman dies. Or, stating the same fact in a slightly more informative way, Ellen ("Granny") Weatherall, age 80, is on her deathbed; the story traces her last day on earth and REtraces much of her earlier life, framed by two "jiltings."

What's not going so well is a close tracing of the elements that produce the "art" of this story--and again, reframing that, what's not going so well for SOME of you is a close tracing . . . .

First period is on notice to re-read the story, because there were just too many people who seemed too blank.  All students who have been slacking on bringing your book to class:  HAVE it tomorrow. 5th period; I did not tell you to re-read the story, but make sure you are well aware of "how/when" backstory details are revealed, and do focus on how, once Granny is no longer conversational in a way that allows her to both understand and to respond intelligibly, the next steps are acquired.  Also pay attention to imagery.  Everyone--where are the ambiguities in the story beyond the difficulty we had with Hapsy?

FOR TOMORROW
Read John Updike's "A & P" (649-654)

FOR THURSDAY
Read James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues"(179-207)