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