For Wed., you’ll hand in your analysis of Hemingway’s “Cat in the Rain.” Don’t forget: circle all words/phrases related to Setting; box all words/phrases related to Characterization; underline words/phrases that indicate the narrator; highlight words/phrases that connect to themes in In Our Time.

After analyzing the text, you’ll write five paragaphs: each paragraph will explain the most significant thing you’ve learned from analyzing the text about Hemingway’s use of setting, characterization, narration, perspective, and theme. The goal here is to connect your analysis to the broader use of techniques in “Cat in the Rain” and In Our Time. N.B. You don’t want to write an essay. Just label each paragraph with the correct category (characterization, setting, theme, etc.) and use that paragraph to explain Hemingway’s use of the technique.

Don’t forget, for Wed., May 5, you want to analyze the opening 3 paragraphs of “Big Two-Hearted River” using the rubric we worked with in class.  You can find a copy of the first three paragraphs and the rubric here.  

As you’re analyzing the paragraphs, do the following: circle all the “setting” related words; put about box around any “characterization” words – - direct and/or indirect definition of character; underline the narrator’s words; and, write a few paragraphs (on the sheet with the Hemingway text) about the use of perspective in the story – -e.g. internal or external? how? why?

For Friday, April 23, you want to read up to Chapter XII and the story, “Cross-Country Snow,” in Hemingway’s In Our Time.

Don’t forget: for Wed., you’ll want to read up to Chapter VI, “A Very Short Story,” in Hemingway’s In Our Time.   One question you’ll want to ask yourself as you read: who is narrating these stories?

From our (too) brief excursion into literary modernism, we’ve discovered a few basic principles of modernist art: 1) modernists are not so much interested in the thing represented, as in representing how we perceive the thing; that is, modernists are interested in how our perception and consciousness work, rather than how the “world” works; 2) modernists challenge readers and viewers; in class, I referred to the idea of “defamiliarization” – – the way that modernist art defamiliarizes our understanding of what poetry or art means and how we engage with works of art; 3) modernists are tricky; even a poet like Frost, whom many consider a familiar figure in poetry, asks his readers to do work – – to pay attention and to fill in gaps in interpretation and meaning; likewise, Eliot’s long poem, “The Waste Land,” refuses to conform to a clear narrative or sequence, preferring instead to work through collage, montage, and pastiche.

Many historians point to the Armory Show of 1913 as an authentic starting point for American modernism. From February 17th to March 15th, 1913, organizers presented an exhibition of about 1250 paintings, sculptures, and other works in the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue in New York City. Many critics and viewers were shocked by the show; many, especially younger, artists and critics were energized and inspired by the show.

For our class on Friday, April 16, instead of meeting in Burk Hall, we’ll meet in the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue. Virtually, of course.

Instead of coming to class on Friday, April 16, point your browser to: the Armory galleries. Take a tour of the show – – be sure to include at least one European picture gallery and one sculpture gallery. Afterward, write a review of the show. Address your review to a friend who asks the question: what makes this stuff modern? Blog the review by Monday, April 19. Write at least four or five substantial paragraphs of close, clear analysis and explanation.

On Friday, we’ll finish talking about William Carlos Williams’ two poems – - “To Elsie” and “This Is Just to Say.” Also, you should get started on Eliot’s “The Waste Land” – - at least through the first section, “Burial of the Dead.”

We’ve looked at two of Robert Frost’s most famous poems, and today we’ll be looking at a couple of equally famous modernist poems (by William Carlos Williams and Ezra Pound).

How would you describe the main differences between these two sets of poems?

Is Frost any more or less complicated and “difficult” than our two modernists? Where do you find the most significant moments of complexity or difficulty in each set of poems?

Blog away . . .

Dont’ forget – - for Monday, April 5 – - we’ll be looking at two poems by Robert Frost: “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”

The three narratives we’ve most recently studied – - Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892), Freeman’s “The Revolt of ‘Mother’” (1890), and James’ Daisy Miller (1878) – - seem to revolve around conflicts over gender roles.  These conflicts seem to be associated with emerging notions of female identity that rub against tradition and convention.  Our three narratives were published within about a decade of each other, indicating perhaps that each was responding to a similar cultural context.  At the very least, each story indicates some discontent with reigning gender conventions for women, and each story can be seen as an effort to imagine beyond these conventions.

You goal in our BYOFN (Bring Your Own Feminist Narrative) project is to find and analyze a contemporary narrative that expresses a similar sense of discontent with current gender identities for women and that tries to imagine beyond the confines of this identity.

First, review our three 19th century narratives.  Try and sketch out the “thermodynamic” plot structure for each narrative.  What is the main conflict in each story about – - specifically?  Where does the conflict announce itself – - specifically?  Whose goals or ambitions are structuring the conflict? Who is in conflict with whom? What specific values are in conflict?  Where, specifically, is this conflict resolved?  How is it resolved?  Is there a winner or a loser?

Now, move on to your contemporary narrative.  Sketch out this narrative’s “thermodynamic” plot structure.  What is the main conflict in each story about – - specifically?  Where does the conflict announce itself – - specifically?  Whose goals or ambitions are structuring the conflict? Who is in conflict with whom? What specific values are in conflict?  Where, specifically, is this conflict resolved?  How is it resolved?  Is there a winner or a loser?

Finally, compare your narrative to our 19th century narratives.  How are the conflicts similar? different? How are the resolutions similar? different?

Due: Wed., April 7.

In Mary Wilkins Freeman’s story, “The Revolt of Mother,” the narrator remarks about Sarah Penn: “Nobility of character manifests itself at loop-holes when it is not provided with large doors.”  What is a “loop-hole” – - literally and figuratively?  What difference is the narrator trying to describe between “loop-holes” and “large doors”?  What kind of narrative, cultural,  and social “loop-holes” does Sarah take advantage of in the story?  Can we find similar “loop-holes” in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”?

Also, don’t forget, for Friday, we’ll read the first part of Henry James’ “Daisy Miller.”