English 251:  Introduction to Literature
Spring 2000
Lyman Baker, Instructor
 
  Return to Part 1 of the Course Schedule
  Go to Part 3 of the Course Schedule

Course Schedule -- Part 2

Note:  The assignments here are provisional.  In the course of the semester it may be necessary or advisable to introduce changes in either assignments or due dates or both.  Such changes will be announced in class and through the course e-mail listserv.  Students at any university should make it a habit to check their e-mail at least once a day.  As changes are announced, they will be worked into this Course Schedule as well.
Also:  Unless otherwise noted, assignments are expected to be completed before class on the dates specified.  Come to class prepared to discuss the assigned reading.  If you are doing a writing assignment, you should submit it at the beginning of class on the date it is due, so that it can be incorporated into discussion.
Finally:  Unless otherwise noted, page references are to the basic text for the course, Kennedy and Gioia's Literature:  An Introduction to Fiction Poetry, and Drama, 2nd Compact Edition.  Critical concepts to be able to show familiarity with on exams have been highlighted in purple.  Works to be covered in the exam(s) are highlighted in green.

1 Mar (W):  Exam #1. 

3 Mar (F):  We'll begin taking up some issues connected with characterization as a dimension of much literature.

(1) Have read for discussion Alice Walker's story "Everyday Use" (pp. 71-78).

(2) You are not expected to write answers to them, but you should give careful thought to the questions the editors have provided on p. 78.  You should ask yourself not only what might be said in response to these (on the basis of what facts of the story), but what assumptions must the editors have been bringing to bear on their reading of the story such that these questions occurred to them.  Or, put the other way around:  how does the story indicate to the experienced reader that these questions are relevant to be pursued?

(3) Be sure you have carefully worked through the Study Guide to Walker's story, and the questions provided by our editors on p. 78.

(4) Work through the glossary article on foil and characterization.

6 Mar (M):  Alternative #1 for Writing Assignment #2 (a topic on Walker's story) is due at the beginning of class.  (Notice that there are 5 alternatives for WA2.  They are progressively more difficult.  Alternatives 3 & 4 are on works that are not part of the required readings for the course -- i.e., they require you to read something we will not be discussing in class.)  Whether or not you choose to write on this alternative, be sure to do the following.

(1)  Study the editors' observations on "characterization" (pp. 60-63).  Critical concepts to get clear upon:  character, motivation, flat vs. round character, static vs. dynamic character, the [psychological] unconscious.

(2)  Have read for discussion Bernard Malamud's story "Angel Levine."

(3)  Work carefully through the Study Guide to Malamud's story.

(4)  Work through the discussion in our glossary on classifying plots in terms of characterization.

(5)  Read the discussion on "Setting" (pp. 92-94).  Give some thought to the ways in which this topic can encompass not merely details of nature (climate, weather, geography) but social and cultural milieu.

8 Mar (W): Alternative #2 for Writing Assignment #2 (a topic on Malamud's story) is due at the beginning of class.  Whether or not you choose to write on this alternative, be sure to do the following.

(1) Read the discussion of "Realism and Naturalism" at the beginning of Chapter 34 ("The Modern Theater," pp. 1110-1112).  Critical concepts to get clear upon:  realism, naturalism, expressionism.

(2) Have read for discussion in class Act One of Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House (pp. 1413-1436).

(3) Review the questions over Act One on p. 1469.

10 Mar (F):  Further discussion of Ibsen's play.

(1) Be sure to have finished Acts Two and Three of A Doll's House (pp. 1436-1470).

(2) You are not expected to write answers to them, but you should give careful thought to the questions the editors have provided on p. 1469-70.  You should ask yourself not only what might be said in response to these (on the basis of what facts of the story), but what assumptions must the editors have been bringing to bear on their reading of the story such that these questions occurred to them.  Or, put the other way around:  how does the story indicate to the experienced reader that these questions are relevant to be pursued?

(3) Read George Bernard Shaw on "Ibsen and the Familiar Situation" (p. 1470-71).

(4) Have a look at our editors' remarks on "What's so realistic about realism?" and

(5) the student paper "Helmer v. Helmer" (pp. 1481-84).

13 Mar (M):  Have read for discussion

(1) Katherine Anne Porter's story "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" (pp. 63-70).  You are not expected to write answers to them, but you should give careful thought to the questions the editors have provided on p. 70.  You should ask yourself not only what might be said in response to these (on the basis of what facts of the story), but what assumptions must the editors have been bringing to bear on their reading of the story such that these questions occurred to them.  Or, put the other way around:  how does the story indicate to the experienced reader that these questions are relevant to be pursued?

(2) There is a Study Guide to this story that you should definitely work through if you are planning on doing Alternative #5 for Writing Assignment #2 (due March 27).

(3) Review the discussion of stream of consciousness and interior monologue (pp. 24-25).

15 Mar (W):  Alternative #3 for Writing Assignment #2 is due at the beginning of class.  In class we will see a short film, based on Porter's story, that was produced for the television series "The American Short Story on Film."  As this will be covered on the second exam, it will be quite convenient for you if you miss this showing.  (You would need to make arrangements to borrow the video for showing at home.)  Meanwhile, work your way through the following three articles (in our web glossary of critical concepts) having to do with the concept of psychological repression.

(1) Freud's analogy for explaining the concept of repression

(2) Alternatives to repression: Freud's parable of the horse of Schilda)

(3) Some examples of category error concerning the concept of psychological repression

17 Mar (F):  Alternative #4 for Writing Assignment #2 is due at the beginning of class.  In class we'll discuss some effects of the difference in point of view between Porter's story and the film inspired by it.  In the meanwhile:

(1) Acquaint yourself with what the editors have to say on the subject of theme (pp. 1199, 175-77, and 654-55).

(2) Study carefully the first half of Chapter 13, "Listening to a Voice" (pp. 667-680).  This is rich stuff.  We'll be taking it up on March 29.  You'll want to work through this several times between now and then, re-reading the poems in the light of the editors' discussions of them and of the questions they helpfully append.  Focus especially upon the following poems, with a view to describing as accurately as you can, for each, the speaker's tone, and how this affects our sense of the poem's overall theme.

20 Mar (M), 22 Mar (W), 24 Mar (F):  No class -- Spring Break.

27 Mar (M):  Alternative #5 for Writing Assignment #2 is due at the beginning of class.  The topic for class discussion today will be:  registering "tone of voice" in characterization, and as an index of theme.  We'll be taking it up in connection with

(1) Study what the editors have to say about "tone and style" (pp. 137-141).

(2) Have read for discussion in class Hemingway's story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" (pp. 141-144).  Be sure to read the story at least twice.  In your second reading, scratch some marginal notes indicated places where the story offers anything relevant to Questions 1, 2, and 4 on p. 145.

29 Mar (W):  Sharpening your sense of tone.

(1) Guided by the editors' discussion and questions, carefully review the poems by Roethke, Cullen, and Kees cited in the assignment for Mar 17 (F).

(2) Work through the discussions of irony (pp. 680-82 and pp. 158-59).

(3) Work your way through the remainder of Chapter 13 (pp. 680-94 [top 2 lines]).  Devote several readings to the following poems in this section: 

31 Mar (F):  Review for the exam.

3 April (M):  Exam #2 -- You'll want to consult the prep sheet for the exam.

  Return to Part 1 of the Course Schedule
  Go to Part 3 of the Course Schedule

  Suggestions, comments and questions are welcome.  Please send them to lyman@ksu.edu .

      Contents copyright © 2000 by Lyman A. Baker. 

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      This page last updated 06 March 2000.