English 102: Spring 2010: Week Two: January 28, 2010

English 101: Comp & Lit II

Week 2: January 28, 2010

Thursday, 6:00-8:40 PMProfessor Melinda Roberts

Today’s Agenda

Review Syllabus

Exploring Fiction

Literature: Personal Response and Critical Thinking

Preparing a First Response Paper

Using the Class Blog / Website

Homework Assignment

6:00 PM: Class Begins7:20-7:30 PM: Break8:40 PM: Class Ends

Exploring Fiction: The Reader as

Participant The exploration of literature begins with YOU Your engagement with the literature creates the

literary experience

A piece of literature is only words on a page until YOU read the words, bring them to life, and give them meaning

YOU give meaning to the literature background (national origin, race, creed, gender,

etc.) personality prior experiences with literature knowledge of the world

Exploring Fiction:The Reader as

Participant Literature demands our attention, our reflection, our examination

Literature requires an investment of emotion and the connection of knowledge and experience

When we learn to appreciate the nuances of literature, we develop the ability to think and to write critically about it

Exploring Fiction:The Methods of

Fiction Tone: the “mood” of the story tone depends on the reader’s delicate emotional responses

to language and situation

Plot: the series of events that create the fictional world of the story the arrangement of connected sequence of narrative

events beginning, middle, end

Characterization: the process by which the characters are rendered to make them seem real to the reader round character flat character short story writers develop characters rapidly and limit

number of round characters (rarely more than three)


Fiction Setting: a single geographical location within a short period of time (time and place) historical setting social setting

Point of View: who is narrating the story? first person (“I”) third person: narrator does not appear as a

character in the story; story told from outside (“he,” “she,” “they”) “omniscient narrator”

knows thoughts, feelings, actions of all characters

“limited omniscient narrator” knows thoughts, feelings, actions of a single character


Fiction Irony: the gap between what is expected and what occurs

Theme: underlying idea, statement the work makes about its subject look to the protagonist (main character)

what is he/she “striving” for? what is the protagonist’s “epiphany”?

sudden flash of recognition that signals the awareness / understanding of moral complexity

the passage from childhood to adulthood (coming of age)

Exploring Fiction:Criticisms for Analysis Biographical: how does the author’s life

experiences influence his/her writing?

Historical: how does the historical setting of the story affect/influence the behavior of the characters?

Sociological: how does the sociological setting of the story affect/influence the behavior of the characters?

Exploring Fiction:Criticisms for Analysis Psychological: Freud

What are the underlying conscious and unconscious motives of the author? the characters?

Oedipus Complex / Electra Complex

Mythological: Jung the “collective consciousness” symbols, allegories, hidden meaning

Personal Response and Critical Thinking

To think critically about literature, we build on our personal responses – record our responses review our responses discuss our responses with peers support our responses with valid evidence

Critical thinking does not mean searching for one right answer. There may be as many answers as there are readers.

Your best answers are those that analyze and articulate your response in light of supporting evidence.

Personal Response and Critical Thinking: Written Response

A written response IS NOT: a summary of a particular literary work that you’ve

read

A written response IS: a short essay that expresses your personal reaction

to a particular literary work a short essay that conveys your thoughts and

feelings about an aspect of a particular literary work a short essay that discusses how a particular literary

work affected you as you read it

Personal Response and Critical Thinking: Written Response

A written response DOES NOT: require you to do outside research

A written response DOES require a careful reading of the literature, clear

thinking about what the author has written, and honest writing in response to the what you’ve thought, felt, questioned, disagreed with, agreed with, were touched by – i.e., how you were affected by / how you connected to the particular piece of literature

present your point of view in a clear and organized manner

Responding to Literature

From the surface level to the core “Surface” Level Evaluation / Response “Meat” Level Evaluation / Response “Core” Level Evaluation / Response


“Surface” Level Title (consider its import) Narrator (point of view)

First person (“I”) Third person (“he,” “she”, “they”)

Character Who is the protagonist? Who is the antagonist? Who are the minor characters?


Comments at the Surface Level From the title, I thought the story was

about . . . When I first met _____, I thought he/she/it

was . . . __________ (someone or something) reminded

me . . . I don’t understand . . . I want to learn more about . . .


“Meat” Level Character

Goals Motives Behavior

Dialogue Inner thoughts Who says what to whom? Who says what about whom?

Flashback(s) Have there been any?


“Meat” Level Mood

What is the psychological “feeling” of the literature?

Does the setting contribute to the “feeling” of the literature?

Irony Have there been any surprises?

Outcomes that were the opposite of what you expected?

Symbols What has more than one meaning?


Comments at the Meat Level I liked / I didn’t like . . . because . . . I understood / didn’t understand why . . .

because . . . I felt ___ when ___ said, “. . .,” because . . . I was surprised . . . I thought ____ should / should

not have . . . The story made me feel . . . I liked / didn’t like when the

author used _____ to symbolize . . . because . . .


“Core” Level:

Has the author “met” you with his/her writing?

Have you had a change of attitude?

Has the writing challenged your beliefs?

Has the writing reinforced your beliefs?

Has the writing affected you in any other way?


Comments at the Core Level The story made me feel . . . I don’t understand why . . . I could relate to . . . I could not relate to . . . __________ reminds me of . . . This story compares with . . . I felt _____ when . . .

Back to you . . . Think about the last piece

of literature you read. What was the title? Who is the author? Why did you read it? Choose 3-5 adjectives to describe your experience with the literature. Discuss your responses with a partner.

When I read a good book . . . I wish that life were three thousand years long.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The Kiss” Kate Chopin

(February 1850-August 1904)

Work with a partner. What do you know about the lives of women in the late 1800s? What was expected of them? What was important to them? How did a woman choose her husband? How did a man choose his wife? With your partner, jot down five things you know about women’s lives in the late 1800s. Be prepared to share with the class.

“The Kiss” Kate Chopin

(February 1850-August 1904)

Which is more important – to marry for love, or to marry for money?

“The Kiss” Read / listen to the story

(10 minutes) Make notes / highlight passages /

circle new vocabulary words

Read the story a second time (10 minutes)

Make additional notes

Write a first response paper (you will have 20 minutes)

Share your first response with a partner (you will have 10 minutes)


A response paper IS NOT: a summary of a particular literary work that you’ve

read

A response paper IS: a short essay that expresses your personal reaction

to a particular literary work a short essay that conveys your thoughts and

feelings about an aspect of a particular literary work a short essay that discusses how a particular literary

work affected you as you read it


A response paper DOES NOT: require you to do outside research

A response paper DOES require a careful reading of the literature, clear

thinking about what the author has written, and honest writing in response to the what you’ve thought, felt, questioned, disagreed with, agreed with, were touched by – i.e., how you were affected by / how you connected to the particular piece of literature

present your point of view in a clear and organized manner

Class Blog / Website

http://english102wcc02.blogspot.com/ Log on Sign up to follow Review homework assignments Respond to “post a comment” activities

(participation / non-participation affects your grade)

http://english102wcc02.blogspot.com/

First Response Paper:

Guidelines 8.5x11-inch paper

1-inch margins

typed, double-spaced, Cambria 12 font

Short Story: minimum one (1) page; maximum two (2) pages

Poetry: minimum three-quarter (3/4) page; maximum one (1) page

IMPORTANT NOTE: Papers that do not meet these guidelines will not be accepted. See your syllabus/class website for further specific details.

First Response Paper:

Guidelines Upper left-hand corner of the paper, single-

spaced:FIRST AND LAST NAMEFebruary 4, 2010Professor Melinda RobertsEnglish 102: Spring 2010

Centered Title (all caps and bolded):RESPONSE PAPER: ”YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN”

RESPONSE PAPER: “THIS BE THE VERSE”

IMPORTANT NOTE: Papers that do not meet these guidelines will not be accepted. See your syllabus/class website for further specific details.

Homework: Due February 4, 2010 @ 6:00

PM Purchase class texts

Log on to class website sign up as “follower” response to “post a comment” prompts

Readings from Literature: The Human Experience Chapter 1: pages 1-21 Chapter 1: pages 38-42 “Young Goodman Brown,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (pages

81-91) check class website for first response writing prompt

“This Be The Verse,” by Philip Larkin (pages 159-160) check class website for first response writing prompt

Archetypes in Literature check class website for link to handout

Education

English 102: Spring 2010: Week Two: January 28, 2010