Final Exam Essay

Whenever I read a good book, I feel like I’m spying on someone else as they do life—casually observing their activities, vicariously experiencing their triumphs, failures, joys, sorrows, friendships and relationships. And when I finish a really good book, I’m often almost sad as I become attached to the characters in the books. I hope that you had at least one experience like that through reading the literature that we’ve experienced together in class. All of the pieces were selected carefully as I had these questions in mind for us to explore:

What can literature tell us about the human experience? In other words, how does literature explore common experiences of every day people and how does this exploration affect the reader?

Which came first—the literature or the society/community in which it is set? In other words, what relationship do you think literature and the community or society to which the author belongs have? Does the literature grow from the society? Or is it unaffected by society? If Faulkner grew up in Maine, would he still write the same kinds of stories? If O’Connor was a native Californian, would she still write about the same subjects? If Twain were from Florida and had never traveled or left the area, would his writing change in any way?

There is an old adage that good authors write what they know. In other words, their literature grows out of their own life experiences. Do you agree or disagree with this position?

I think that if you think about the class and the activities we have done, you would agree that it has been organized around exploring these three questions. So I ask you, one more time before we part company, what do you think?

So here’s the actual assignment for your final exam: you have to select one of the questions—the one that you instantly have an answer to, can think of the most examples of, etc—and write a well-developed essay which cites specific examples from the literature that we have read in support of your position. I do not want you to do any more outside research. I want you to rely on your own opinion and what you have learned through your research through the class. Of course, because you will be providing specific examples from the texts, and possibly from other sources, you will need a works cited page (don’t forget our friend http://citationmachine.net/) Of course you could always cut and paste citations from previous works cited pages also.

Happy writing—

Mrs. M

Due: Your Final Exam Essay is due Monday, December 17 by 10:30 am. You may not submit your essay via email.

Reading Assignment--11/13/07

Remember that we don't formally meet tomorrow. You are to meet with your group and discuss Chapters 16-30. Please finish the book by Monday, November 19, 2007. Here is the reading quiz that goes with that section of the book.

Reading Quiz:


1. At whose house was Jim when Huck came back to the raft?
2. How much did the king get for Jim?
3. How much was the reward for Jim?
4. What is Silas' wife's name?
5. Who do Mr. and Mrs. Phelps think Huck is?
6. Who was coming from town in a wagon?
7. What did the stranger do to Aunt sally that made her almost hit him?
8. What happened to the king and the duke?
9. What two clues assured Tom and Huck that Jim was in the shed?
10. How did Tom and Huck finally decide to free Jim?
11. What did Tom and Huck hear that made them stop talking about Jim's escape?
12. How many knives did Tom want Huck to "smouch"?
13. What kind of pie did Tom tell Nat to make?
14. How many tallow candles did tom steal?
15. Where do they keep the boots and rags, and pieces of bottles and wore-out tin things, and all such truck?
16. According to Tom, from where did William the Conqueror come, and on what ship?
17. What does "Maggoire fretta, minore atto" mean?
18. What was Jim to get instead of a rattlesnake?
19. What was Tom going to put in Jim's coffee pot?
20. What did Tom and Huck see dripping from the rafters , landing on plates and down the back of your neck?
21. What did Tom and Huck do with the sawdust?
22. What happened that alerted the farmers to Tom, Huck, and Jim's presence?
22. What was Jim wearing during the "evasion"?
23. Who went to get the doctor? Huck
23. Why?
25. Why didn't the dogs lead the farmers to Jim and the boys?
26. How much did the doctor say a nigger like Jim was worth?
27. How much money was waiting for Huck back home?
28. How did Huck's Pap die?

Discussion Questions--Chapter 16-30

We don't have class Monday, November 12 due to the Veterans Day Holiday. On Wednesday, November 14, my son is having a special program at his school in Pensacola that begins at 11:45. Your group needs to gather in the LRC (Library), the computer lab, around one of your lap-tops, at the local coffee shop etc. and answer the discussion questions that follow. A copy of them with your group members' names on them needs to be sent via email by midnight Wednesday night. I am enforcing the honor system and it will be very easy for me to tell if one person from the group answered the questions for the group and posted them for the group. Please don't dissappoint me.

Discussion Questions for your Group

Chapter 16

Key Events:

Important passages (Be sure to include page number)

What importance does the night in the fog serve in the book? Discuss what happens in the fog, what the fog might symbolize, and what Huck realizes as a result of the experience.

Discuss the irony in the statement Jim makes about stealing his children. Why did Huck feel it was morally wrong for Jim to claim his children as his own?

Critics believe Twain stopped writing the novel for a few years after he finished Chapter 16. Why would this have been a difficult place to continue? How does the setting of the novel change at this point?

Chapter 17 – 21:

Key events:

Important passage (with page number):

Describe the Grangerford house. What is satirical about the furnishings, art, and poetry? What does this description say about the Grangerfords?

Twain employs satire throughout the novel to speak out against the hypocrisy and corruption in his society. In what way is the church service attended by the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons an attack on the religion of Twain’s day?

How is life on the raft in these chapters contrasted with life on the shore? What has the raft come to mean to Huck and to Jim?

Who joins Huck and Jim on the raft? Why doesn’t Huck expose them as frauds?

The story of Romeo and Juliet has now turned up twice. Where are the two references to Romeo and Juliet? Why do you think these references are in the novel?

Huck’s journey on the river is filled with adventures, but it is also a symbolic journey. What does his journey symbolize? What does the river symbolize to Huck and Jim? What changes on the river and on the shore as Huck and Jim travel deeper south? Cite specific examples from the text to support your answer.

Chapters 22 – 30:

Key events:

Important passage (with page number):

Questions:

Discuss the development of Jim’s humanity in the eyes of Huck. In what ways has Jim been dehumanized by society? How does Jim’s story about Lizabeth change this?

Twain is satirizing the lynch mob in these chapters. What does the scene with the mob and Sherburn’s speech about human nature reveal about Twain’s own ideas of mobs and society?

How does Huck feel about the duke and dauphin’s decision to con the Wilks? In what way is Huck less tolerant of their schemes? What does this change signify about Huck’s moral development?

The separation of families through the selling of slaves is a recurrent theme in the novel. What is Twain’s attitude about this issue?

Throughout the novel, Huck told stories or lies in a variety of situations. Discuss these times and how Huck’s idea of truth has changed.

Reading Quiz--Chapters 16-30

Due Tuesday, November 13, 2007 by midnight.

Copy and paste the following questions into MS Word or an email and answer them based on what you have read in the novel. Your answers are due by midnight on Tuesday.

1. What town were Huck and Jim looking for?
2. Why was Huck miserable?
3. How did the raft get destroyed?
4. What was Huck's pseudonym?
5. How did Huck find out his pseudonym after he'd forgotten it?
6. How did Stephen Dowling Bots Die?
7. Who was Col. Grangerfords oldest son?
8. At what time was Miss Sophia supposed to have her rendezvous?
9. With whom did Sophia Grangerford run off with?
10. Who wouldn't say, "dern the fog"?
11. The two men said that they were really…
12. How old was the imaginary boy named Ike?
13. How much did the King make at the camp meeting?
14. What play are the duke and the king rehearsing?
15. What is the "most celebrated thing in Shakespeare"?
16. Who Killed Boggs?
17. Colonel Sherburn isays that the average man is a ____________.
18. How much did "them rapscallions" take in in three nights?
19. Who does Huck say is Henry the Eighth's father?
20. Why did Jim feel bad about hitting his daughter?
21. What was Peter Wilkes occupation while he was living?
22. Who are Peter Wilkes' three nieces?
23. How much were the king and duke short of $6,000 in the basement?
24. Who told the girls the King was a fraud?
25. Where did Huck hide to eavesdrop on the king and duke?
26. Where did the King put the money?
28. Where did Huck stick the money?
29. Why was the dog howling in the basement during the funeral?
30. Whom did Huck say he had seen in the king's room? .
31. To where was Mary Jane going for 4 days?
32. In what town did the duke and the king play the "Royal nonesuch"?
33. Who was the man with the broken arm?
34. What did the king say was tatooed on Peter Wilkes breast?
35. What did Harvey Wilkes say was tatooed on his brothers breast?
36. What does the duke say is the one smart thing the king did, the thing that saved them?

Reading Assignment 11/5/07

Please read to Chapters 16-30 by Wed. November 14. And while we won't meet formally that day, please meet with your groups and discuss the questions I will post later. You will need to turn your discussion questions in for a grade via email by midnight November 14.

Reading Quiz--Due Monday by 6:00 am

Answer the following questions on the content of chapters 7-15. Cut and paste into Microsoft Word and send your answers via email as an attachment.

1. For what did Huck dive in the water?
2. What did Huck drop "so as to look like it had been done by accident?"
3. What was Huck's destination once he was in the canoe?
4. Why was the ferry-boat firing the cannon?
5. What did Huck find that made his "heart jump up amongst his lungs?"
6. Why was Jim afraid of Huck?
7. Why didn't Huck believe that bees didn't sting idiots?
8. What did Jim say that the little birds said?
9. Were they right?
10. How did the man in the house die?
11. What did Huck and Jim find sewed up in the lining of an old blanket overcoat?
12. After Jim got bit by the rattlesnake, what did he have Huck do with the rattles?
13. Why does Huck think that Jim got bit by the snake?
14. What two objects did they find in the stomach of the catfish?
15. Who is Sarah Williams?
16. Where is Sarah from?
17. What three ways did Mrs. Loftus ascertain Sarah's true gender?
18. What two items did Huck and Jim decide to NOT "borrow?"
19. According to Huck Finn, how much do steamboat captains make per month?
20. What's the name of the wreck?
21. According to Huck Finn, how many wives did Solomon have?
22. How many boxes of cigars did Huck and Jim get from the ferry-boat?
23. How did Louis the XVI die?
24. Where did Huck lose the raft?

Reading Assignment

Enough messing around. Let's knock this puppy out. By Monday 11/5 please have read through chapter 15 of Huckleberry Finn.

Oh Where, Oh Where in the Literary World is Mark Twain?

Caveat: Be sure to read all of this post as it contains two individual assignments.

Well. I had beautifully written, accurately summarized, carefully documented lecture notes on Realism and Mark Twain. However, in the great computer crash of 2007, they were rendered unrecoverable, as evidenced by the error message that I have received numerous times as I have attempted to recover them. In the absence of said notes, I am reminded that students have brains too and that they are capable of reading information, synthesizing and summarizing it. So I decided to give you the sources that I used and encourage you to use your brains. So here they are:

http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap5/5intro.html

http://www.ncteamericancollection.org/amer_realism.htm

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/lit5.htm

All these site, in some way, place Mark Twain on and within the literary continuum. After you read through them, and the first six chapters (you should have already read 4) of Huck Finn, give me a 150-200 word paragraph in which you discuss the ways that you see the elements each of these articles discuss beginning to emerge in Huck Finn. Due Wednesday.

Also, in class tomorrow, we will be having a long delayed conversation about those first four chapters of Huck Finn. Here are the questions that we will be addressing in our conversations. I'd like for you to spend some time collecting your thoughts and come armed and dangerous with your answers to the questions. You are required to post answers to your favorite of the list.

Here they are:

1. What do you think about the warning that Twain opens Huck Finn with? What purpose do you think it serves? Why is it there?

2. What is your first impression of Huck? Why?

3. Discuss Hucks living situation. What affect does this have on you the reader? Does it make you sympathize with him more or not? Why?

4. Twain chooses a 13-year-old boy as narrator for his novel. In what way does this help to accomplish Twain’s purpose? Discuss the ways in which a young, innocent narrator can make a profound statement about the hypocrisy of his society.

5. Compare and contrast Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. Consider how they treat Jim, their approach to problem solving, their way of planning the gang’s adventures, their attitudes toward books and learning, and their family experiences.

6. List both scenes which establish superstition as a theme in the novel. How do these scenes help establish character? How do they serve as foreshadowing?

7. Analyze the role of respectability in Tom Sawyer’s supposedly lawless gang. Why is it mandatory for each member to have a respectable family? Examine the idea that Huck, who has had more experience with breaking the law than any of the others, comes close to being excluded from the gang.

7.

Wednesday's class

Ms. Amos came to me after class today and invited our class to attend the presentation by Dr. Delaino (PJC President) on Wednesday at 10:30. Not only do you get a chance to see, hear, and ask any burning questions you have of the president, but you also get free lunch. I accepted on your behalf. We will meet in the commons (email me if you don't know where that is). Find me so that you will get your 10 extra credit points.

You'll have a new blog to reply to tomorrow.

Mrs. M

Mark Twain

I hope that you are as excited about our new literary adventure as I am. Mark Twain, on my list of favorite authors, is right behind Faulkner and O'Connor for a variety of reasons--hey, maybe that could be a blog question at the end of the year--why are these Mrs. McGuire's favorite authors? That would be an interesting read for me--to see how you think I think.

Anyway, back to Twain. I'm providing you some resources to augment the information in the text and illuminate your reading of Huck Finn. With Twain, as with previous authors, biography is important. So here is a really good biography.

http://www.marktwainhouse.org/theman/bio.shtml

http://www.marktwainhouse.org/theman/twain_tree.pdf

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/gmd:@field(NUMBER+@band(g4164h+pm004230))

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/pan:@field(NUMBER+@band(pan+6a13683))

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/index2.html

That should be enough to keep you busy for a while.

So for your actual assignment for this blog, I'd like for you to tell me in about 150 word, well-developed paragraph the general impression you have of Twain (Clemens) after you read through all this information.

Happy reading--

Mrs. M

Class--9/26/07

It's time to start putting together the pieces that we have been working on in class with all of the reading that we have been doing. And the way that you are going to do that (notice I said you :-)) is in the form of an essay. I'd like for you to write a 5-7 page essay in which you address the writing style, cultural influences and personal connections in O'Connor and Faulkner's fiction. In order to accomplish this task, you are going to have to discuss how their fiction represents their society--whether it reflects it and/or comments upon it--the historical setting. In addition, you will be sure to discuss the elements of the literary movement that you can find within their writing. I've suggested that you can locate both authors within the Southern Gothic tradition. So why do you agree or disagree with that. Of course most authors write what they know. So in analyzing their writing, you'll need to discuss how their personal experiences are represented in their fiction. This essay will be due two weeks from today--October 10, 2007

Your task for today is to find 2 more academic sources (use the databases that PJC subscribes to) for each of those elements: Historical/cultural, biographical, and Southern Gothicism. I've already given you at least one for each of these. If I were you, as I did my search I would be sure to combine the key word terms and put each in quotation marks. My search would look something like this:

"Flannery O'Connor" and "Souther Gothic"
"William Faulkner" and "Biography"

To demonstrate that you have accomplished your goals, I would like a list of the sources that you have found which includes a good, well-developed paragraph summarizing each source. This list should include the title, author, and as much publication information as you can provide. It's due by Monday via email (cmcguire@pjc.edu)

Mrs. M

PS. Do you have a PJC ID and has it been activated at the Library? If so, you can go to the library website and access the databases that they subscribe to from their website--click on "find articles." When you do, it will take you to this page:https://www.linccweb.org/index.asp?lib_code=flcc2100&screen=SubjectAt this page, you enter the bar code from your id as your borrowers id and the last for digits of your SS# as your passcode.From there, you can choose the database in which you can search for articles. If you don't have your id yet, you can only do this assignment at the library until you get one and it's activated. If you have your id, but it's not activated, read the directions here:

http://lrc.pjc.edu/FAQ.htm#checkout

Mrs. M

Southern Belle meets Southern Gothic

Wow. What a great discussion we had today about "Good Country People." I enjoyed hearing your comments. My students never disappoint me in their ability and willingness to delve into a text that's not necessarily an easy or comfortable read and come out with astute insights. Good job all ya'all (if it's okay for a yankee like me to appropriate a "southernism").

So our next literary journey will involve another Flannery O'Connor tale that is just as disturbing as "Good Country People," but in a more subtle way. I'm curious to see how you react to the main characters of this story and hear what your insights are into their characters and motivations. And just as Faulkner focuses on the clash of the old South and the new South, this story does so in a more overt way--within the confines of a weekly bus ride to the "Y."

So here's your link for "Everything that Rises Must Converge" (Yes, the title is just as significant for this one as it was for "Good Country People")

http://www.geocities.com/cyber_explorer99/oconnorconverge.html

Also, I wanted to round out your picture of the writer--Flannery O'Connor herself, so I'm including a wonderful piece that was published in Time magazine. Here's the link for that:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,916650-1,00.html

Finally, it's time to start a conversation about the literary tradition that Miss Flannery and Mr. William employ in their writing. I've suggested that their writings might fall in the Southern Gothic tradition. Here's a pretty accurate website chock full of informative links should you run across a term that is unfamiliar:

http://www.answers.com/topic/southern-gothic

So here's your assignment for this weekend. First of all, read and digest all the material here.

Second, is a two part assignment:
1. Instead of answering my questions, post at least three questions concerning "Everything that Rises Must Converge," Southern Gothic Literature, and/or the biographical information posted for this assignment.

2. Pick one question from a classmate and answer it--as always providing good details from the story/articles to support your answer.

Have a fantaxtic weekend, enjoy your reading, and I look forward to our next conversation.

Mrs. M

Class Discussion 9/17/07

My two-year-old son woke up at 4 am this morning with a fever of 101. I am very sorry that I can't be there with you today. I was/am looking forward to a lively class discussion concerning "Good Country People." So come armed with your ammunition on Wednesday. We will have fun with this one. While it's a fun tale, there is lots there lurking below the surface to have fun with.

To prepare you for that discussion, here's what I'd like for you to do today for class. I'd like for you to pick your favorite or perhaps least favorite character in "Good Country People." Then give me a 2-3 page essay that discusses what motivates them. In other words, figure out why they do what they do and tell me why you feel that way. A successful paper will focus on the actions of the characters, provide details from the story for support, and be clearly and logically argued. Please have it to me before the next class meeting--Wednesday morning by 6:00 am

I'm not sure if you can post something of that length to the blog, so just email it to me (cmcguire @pjc.edu) as a MS Word attachment.

Thanks again for being understanding and cooperative in my absence. It means a great deal to me.

See you Wednesday, and happy writing.

Mrs. M

Flannery O'Connor

Now that our visit with Faulkner is complete, let's walk a few year's down the time line and meet Flannery O'Connor. First of all, take some time to get acquainted with her. Here is a pretty good short biography of her life:

http://www.biblio.com/authors/74/Flannery_OConnor_Biography.html

Once you have introduced yourself to her, it's time to have a nice long chat with her. So grab a nice tall glass of iced tea, kick back, and read her tale: "Good Country People," another one of my personal favorites. I appreciate authors who laugh in the face of convention and have their say in spite of the society that envelopes and often suffocates them.

So here is the link to the story:

http://www.geocities.com/cyber_explorer99/oconnorgoodcountry.html

I hope you appreciate the ironic twist at the end. . . it relies on a kind of twisted humor I think to appreciate it.

So here are your questions for this one:

1. So tell me why this happens to be one of my favorite short stories.

2. Talk about the ending of the story. Did you "see it coming"? Why or why not?

3. Talk about the family relationships. Were they realistic? Why or why not?

4. Talk about the view of religion presented in the story. What's the point she is trying to make? Do you agree or disagree?

5. I'd like to propose that all the characters of the story are "disabled" in some way. In what ways do you agree or disagree with that statement?

6. How is the point of view of the story different from what we've become used to with Faulkner? How does that affect the story?

7. What elements of her life appear in her fiction?

Enjoy your trip with Ms. O'Connor. I'm anxious to see your reactions to the story. Have a super weekend--

Mrs. M

"That Evening Sun"

The first all black, incorporated town in Florida is Eatonville, FL. Check out this link if you want some more information on it. http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/rapids/8428/hikeplans/eatonville/planeatonvil.html

Faulkner is not afraid to tackle "delicate subjects" in his short stories. In "A Rose for Emily," he artfully tackles racism, mental illness, sexual abuse/incest, and necrophilia. You know, the lighter side of life. The title of our next story is deceptively bucolic (if you don't know what it means, look it up (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/). From the title, "That Evening Sun," you would expect a pleasant little tale. However, remember that we are dealing with Faulkner theses days, so if that's your expectation, it won't be realized. Like "A Rose for Emily," it takes a couple trips through the story to come to grips with what is going on and the point of view is not what you would expect and contributes to the overall effect of the story. We are limited by what the narrator knows and comprehends about the events. Finally, unlike Emily's tale, "That Evening Sun" is rife with Biblical allusions. We'll see how well you know your Bible or at least how well you can research. :-).

You are only required to answer one question or reply to someone else's post. Be sure to use specific examples from the text. So here are you questions:

1. Why is the point of view just as critical with this story as it was with "A Rose for Emily" and how does it affect the plot of the the story?

2. Why do you think that Faulkner tackles "taboo" subjects in both "A Rose for Emily" and "That Evening Sun"?

3. In what ways is Faulkner commenting on his society?

4. Are these characters believable/realistic? Why or why not?

5. "That Evening Sun" is characterized as a psychological story. Why do you think that is? What elements in the story lead to this characterization?

6. Which character or character to you sympathize with the most? why?

Hope you enjoy this one--

Mrs. M

The Truth Behind the Fiction

Dear Fellow American Literature Devotees:

Thank you for your insights and willingness to engage in a text like "A Rose for Emily." Thank you for participating in the discussion today. And thank you for appreciating Faulkner's craft as a writer rather than giving up and saying "it's too hard."

While many would stop with our new found appreciation for Faulkner as a writer and his craft in the short story "A Rose for Emily, our fun with Miss Emily and Faulkner is only beginning. I propose that to truly understand the literature of a period, you have to understand the period of the literature. Faulkner, himself, is not that far removed from the "The War of Northern Agression," as many well-bred southerns would call it, or the Civil War as it is commonly known--he was born, as you will discover shortly--a scant 30 years after it ended. What does that tell you about the clash of the "old guard" and "new regime" that is clearly evident in "A Rose for Emily"? To which group do you think Faulkner himself subscribed? How are his philosophies evident in the text? How much of "A Rose for Emily" is social commentary concerning his own society? These questions and many more are answered--or will be--as you read and digest the information in the following links. After the links, is your actual assignment which will demonstrate that you've read the material.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/reconstruction/index.html

http://www.historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=587

http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/features/feature74/Reconstruction.htm

http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/faulkner_william/

So now that you've read both "A Rose for Emily" and this historical information, what do you think "the point" of "A Rose for Emily" is? What "evidence" from the historical information and the story itself lead you to this conclusion?

As always, happy reading and writing.

With love,

Mrs. M

"A Rose For Emily

I hope that you all have enjoyed your trip into Miss Emily Grierson's world. It's one of my favorite stories simply because of the shock and horror at the reality of the end of the story. After you get to the end, it's one of those stories that make you go back and reread portions because, what you believe to be true at the end, just can't be so. As Larry the Cable Guy would say, "Now, that just ain't right."

I am curious to read your reactions to the story and to discuss them in class on Wednesday. So here are the rules of the game:

1. Answer one of the following questions and in answering be sure to provide specific examples from the text.

2. Respond to someone else's post by providing more support for his or her answer or by giving the person you are responding to a new way of looking at the situation. Again, be sure to provide specific examples from the text.

Here are your questions:

1. What is meaningful in the final detail that the strand of hair on the second pillow is "iron-gray"?
2. Who is the unnamed narrator? For whom does he profess to speak?
3. Why does "A Rose for Emily" seem better told from the narrators point of view than from the point of view of the main character?
4. What foreshadowings of the discovery of the body of Homer Baron are we given earlier in the story? Did Faulkner's foreshadowing intensify your emotional reaction at the end of the story or diminish it? Why?
5. Share your experience reading "A Rose for Emily." What did you like about the story? What were you feelings as you read? At what point did you "get" what was happening at the Grierson Home?
6. What contrasts does the narrator draw between changing reality and Emily's refusal or inability to recognize change?
7. How do the character and background of Emily Grierson differ from those of Homer Barron? What general observations about the society that Faulkner depicts can be made from his portraits of these two characters and from his account of life in this one Mississippi town?
8. Does the story seem totally grim or do you find any humor in it? Why and where?
9. What do you infer to be the author's attitude toward Emily Grierson? Is she simply a murderous woman? Why do you suppose Faulkner calls his story "A Rose for Emily"?