Reading and Homework Assignments

Introduction to Literature

Instructor: Tim Bascom

Please come to class having read the assigned works and having completed your homework.

August 29

Read: Experience, Interpretation, and Evaluation (10-12), Reading Stories (27-32), The Act of Reading and "The Story of an Hour" (37-42).

August 31

Edgar Allen Poe in Context (132-136) and "The Cask of Amantillado" (144-148). "The Short Story" (175-176).

September 5

Read: Formalist Perspectives (2161-2163). Plot and Structure and "Guests of the Nation" (49-59).

Homework: Type a journal entry that accomplishes two things:

1. Explain how this story relates to your life or things you have observed?

2. Use the plot chart on page 50 to describe one part of the plot in "Guests of

the Nation" that is working well: exposition, complication, falling action, or resolution. Be sure to give several examples.

September 7

Read: Character (59-62). Setting (66-67), Irony and Symbol (97-99), and "Gimpel the Fool" (404-414).

Homework: Create a 5 x 8 card report on the story “Gimpel the Fool.” This report should be limited to small notes on one side of a 5 X 8 card. It should briefly describe the plot in terms of exposition, conflict, complication, climax, and resolution. It should label the characters as major (both protagonist and antagonist) or minor, describing their individual motivations or operating principles. It should also include a brief description of the setting and any important details that operate as symbols. Finally, please add one example of irony at the bottom of the card.

September 12

Read: Biographical and Historical Perspectives (2164-2168). Point of View (77-78) and “Hills Like White Elephants” (563-566).

Homework: Type a journal entry about the story “Hills Like White Elephants.” What is the point of view for the narration of this story, how does it compare to the point of view in “Gimpel the Fool,” and how does it affect the way we receive the story and understand it? Please give one or two examples to explain the effect of the point of view in “Hills Like White Elephants.”

September 14

Read: Sandra Cisneros in Context (238-240) and “Woman Hollering Creek” (246-253). Also, Cisneros on Herself (254-257) and Critics on Cisneros (257-259).

September 19

Read: Psychological Perspectives (2169-2171) and “Silent Dancing” (265-271).

Homework: Type a journal entry responding to #3 from the questions on page 2171. If you were this author’s therapist, what would be your diagnosis and treatment?

September 21

Read: “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” (399-404). Mark it up as you read, looking for any imagery or wording that seems particularly important for understanding the psychological motivation of the characters. Turn in a photocopy of one page from the story with your underlining and notes in the margins. Pick a page that seems particularly rich with psychological meaning.

September 26

Read: “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (672-683).

Homework: Type up a journal entry, answering these questions: What are Connie’s values (the things that are important to her), and how do you know those are her values (offer evidence please)? How do Connie’s values compare or contrast with the values of her sister or mother? And how do you know this? What do you think Joyce Carol Oates is suggesting about Connie through her description of her and her description of what happens to her?

NOTE: ALL JOURNAL ENTRIES ARE DUE today in a folder.

September 28

Come to class prepared to watch a film version of the story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” It will be very important to attend this class and to take careful notes, since we will discuss the story and film comparatively, and since you will be responsible for the film version when we take the mid-term exam.

October 3

Come to class to review all of the material we have covered so far, in preparation for the mid-term exam.

October 5

Take the mid-term exam.

October 10

Read: Reading Poems (763-774), Types of Poetry (775-778), and Voice: Speaker and Tone (779-781). Also, read "Meeting at Night" (797).

October 12

Read: Adaptations: Poetry and Song (892-893).

October 17

Read: Figures of Speech (799-802), Symbolism and Allegory (804-806), and "Diving into the Wreck" (Handout).

Homework: Type a journal entry. Find a simile, a metaphor, and one or two possible symbols in “Diving into the Wreck.” Explain what they each represent. Then explain what you think that the author is trying to communicate through the whole poem. On the surface level, it is about a diver descending down into the ocean to look at an actual shipwreck. But what do you think that the author is writing about on a figurative level? And can you see a way that you have experienced this yourself, in your life?

October 19

Read: Structure: Closed Form and Open Form (832-837). Emily Dickinson In Context (909-912). "I felt a Funeral, in my Brain" (920) and "Some keep the Sabbath . . . " (921). Also, "A Noiseless Patient Spider" (1203).

Homework: Type a journal entry. Compare Whitman’s poem “When I heard the learn’d astronomer” (834) with one of Emily Dickinson’s poems. Are the two poems closed form, open form, or both? And what poetic elements help to explain whether they are closed or open form? Look especially at stanzas, line length, and rhyme to help justify your decision. Finally, explain how the form seems to match what the poet is talking about in each poem.

October 24

Read: the section on Sound: Rhyme, Alliteration, Assonance (817-820). Also, read “Death Be Not Proud” (1100).

Reminder: two teams will present their observations on the elements of poetry in the poems for next class period. Be sure to prepare together and to check in with the instructor about your planned approach.

October 26

Read: the section on Rhythm and Meter (824-830). Also read “Meditation at Lagunitas” (1118) and “Golden Retrievals” (1031).

Homework: Create a 5x8 card report on one of these two poems. Be sure to label each element of poetry that you describe: type of poetry (narrative or lyric), closed or open form, tone of voice, metaphors, similes, symbols. Also, look for any sound devices at work in the poem, labeling and describing those elements of the poem (rhyme, alliteration, or assonance). Then comment on the rhythm or meter. For each element of the poem offer a bit of evidence. For instance, if you think the poem has an ironic tone of voice, then give a few words that suggest that tone of voice.

October 31

Read: Feminist Perspectives (2174-76), “Women” (1195), and “This is a Photograph of Me” (1059).

November 2

Read: "The Game" (1084) and "Pumpkin Eater" (1083).

Homework: Type up a journal entry in response to one of the two poems. These are by authors we have already studied: Sandra Cisneros and Judith Ortiz Cofer. First type up your interpretation of the poem. Then describe the speaker’s voice and explain the images or metaphors or symbols that seem to carry the most meaning. After interpreting the poem, describe how it relates to what you know about the author through our earlier study of a story or essay, or the author’s actual life.

November 7

Read: “Dover Beach” and “The Dover Bitch” (889-890). Also read “Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town” (1094).

Homework: Pick either “The Dover Bitch” or “Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town,” and type a journal entry in which you show your appreciation for the humor or wit in that selected poem. What is clever or witty or downright funny? Why are certain parts of the poem humorous in some sense? And how is the poem still serious? In other words, even though it may seem playful or funny, how is it still causing you to think about some important theme? And what does the poet seem to be arguing for or trying to illuminate?

November 9

Come to class prepared to review poems that we have studied so far. Look back over at least five poems and come to class with three handwritten questions to hand in at the beginning of class.

November 14

Come to class prepared for the Poetry Exam.

November 16

Come to class having read the one-act play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell (pages 1858-1868). Bring three hand-written questions for discussion.

November 21

Read the section on Reading Plays (1247-1251). Also read Types of Drama (1265-1267). And read pages 1774-1794 from Death of a Salesman.

Homework: Type up a journal entry after re-considering the definition of tragedy given in the section on Types of Drama. What evidence do you see, so far, for this play being a tragedy? And if it is a tragedy, do you think that Willy Loman qualifies as a tragic hero? Why or why not?

November 28

Finish Act I of Death of a Salesman. Come to class with all journal entries ready to turn in.

A response to metaphor and symbol in Diving into the Wreck

Whitman’s poem compared with Dickinson’s poem

A response to “The Game” or “Pumpkin Eater”

A response to humor in “The Dover Bitch” or “Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town”

A response to tragedy in Death of a Salesman

You will see a film version of Death of a Salesman in class.

November 30

Read at least 10 more pages in Act II of Death of a Salesman. Come to class prepared to discuss the play and the film version.

December 5

Read the rest of Death of a Salesman. Come prepared to discuss.

December 7

If you haven’t finished reading the play, DO! Also, if you have missed any journal entries, bring your final make-up journal entry (worth 8 points, rather than the full 10 points). The journal assignment is as follows: type out four favorite quotes from Death of a Salesman, and then offer a paragraph explanation of each quote (explaining how it is significant to understanding a theme in the play).