Reading film (or tv)

For those of you writing about film and unsure how to approach questions of cinematic technique, here are two websites that cover some of the basic questions you should ask. I do not expect you to be experts in reading film sequences, but you should at least consider some of these questions.

http://wire.rutgers.edu/p_reading_film.html

http://web.uvic.ca/geru/439/seq.html

Secondary Source Suggestions

Spectators and observers:
Laura Mulvey, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" (could apply to all our texts, not just film.)
https://wiki.brown.edu/confluence/display/MarkTribe/Visual+Pleasure+and+Narrative+Cinema

Lawrence Howe, "Through the Looking Glass: Reflexivity, Reciprocality, and Defenestration in Hitchcock's Rear Window"
http://0-muse.jhu.edu.library.stonehill.edu:80/journals/college_literature/v035/35.1howe.html

Dana Brand, The Spectator and the City in Nineteenth-Century American literature (book available at Stonehill Library)

Dana Brand, "Rear-View Mirror: Hitchcock, Poe, and the Flaneur in America" (photocopy outside my office) (also relevant to several other paper topics)

Crime and Criminals:
Howard Horwitz, "Maggie and the Sociological Paradigm," American Literary History, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Winter, 1998), pp. 606-638
http://0-www.jstor.org.library.stonehill.edu/stable/490138

Catherine Nickerson, "Murder as Social Criticism," American Literary History, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Winter, 1997), pp. 744-757
http://0-www.jstor.org.library.stonehill.edu/stable/490191

Keith Gandal, "Stephen Crane's "Maggie" and the Modern Soul," ELH, Vol. 60, No. 3 (Autumn, 1993), pp. 759-785
http://0-www.jstor.org.library.stonehill.edu/stable/2873412?&Search=yes&term=crime&term=crane&term=maggie&list=hide&

Machines and Technology:
Donna Haraway, "A Cyborg Manifesto" (especially last section)
http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html

Mark Seltzer, "Serial Killers (1)" (could also apply to crime essay)
http://0-find.galegroup.com.library.stonehill.edu:80/itx/infomark.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&docType=IAC&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=ITOF&docId=A14506259&userGroupName=mlin_s_stonecol&version=1.0&searchType=PublicationSearchForm&source=gale

M. Christine Boyer, "Disenchantment of the City: An Improbable Dialogue Between Bodies, Machines, and Urban Form" (photocopy outside my office)

City and Village:
Toni Morrison, "City Limits, Village Values: Concepts of Neighborhood in Black Fiction"
(photocopy outside my office)

Doreen Massey, "A Place Called Home?" (in course pack; could apply to other essay topics too)

Apartments:
Sharon Marcus, Apartment Stories (photocopies of selections from book outside my office)

Dana Brand, "Rear-View Mirror" (see above under Spectators)

Ariel's post: Massey/Wideman

In Doreen Massey’s “A Place Called Home?” there is a discussion on how we give concepts such as ‘home’ and ‘place’ a certain identity.

There is a significant relationship between identity and place that help to define “home.” Is home more than a geographical location in which a group of people relate? Is home a state of being where an individual finds comfort and security or a place where our identities are constructed?

Massey explains in detail the effects of globalization and sates “The link between culture and place, it is argued, is being ruptured.”(160) Do you agree with this statement on how a location’s culture is being defined by the products is exports? Do you believe these exports would be a strength or weakness to the overall representation of that culture?

Final essay questions

Choose one of the topics below and write a 6-8 page paper which analyzes any of the texts from O’Hara to the end of the semester. You should incorporate one secondary source (suggestions to come momentarily); please choose your topic, read the secondary source, and begin to think about how to incorporate it before next Thursday (Dec. 4). Since several of these topics touch on themes we have already discussed in class, so be sure to discuss passages and subjects other than/in addition to the ones we covered together.

1. Analyze the position of the observer and the observed in one or two of the “city” works we have read. (O’Hara, Crane, Poe, Hitchcock, James, Wideman, Scott). There are many possible perspectives to take on this topic, so narrow it down carefully. Possibilities include:
-Moments when the position of the observer becomes that of the observed (as in Rear Window, Blade Runner, Jolly Corner). What kind of power does an observer have, and what causes the shift between observer and observed? There are lots of paranoid characters; what dynamic produces this paranoia?
-In a film: discuss the use of close-ups, panoramic shots, unusual camera angles or camera movement, and their effect on the audience. How does the camera play the role of a “narrator” in Rear Window? What is the relationship between the director’s camera and the cameras (Jefferies’ still photography, the blimps in Rear Window) in the films themselves?
-Many of these characters position themselves high above “street level” at some point (including Rear Window, Jolly Corner, Hiding Place, Blade Runner). What relationship to the city do they achieve with this panoramic perspective? How does a “bird’s eye” view either grant or take away power?

2. Discuss the depiction of criminals and crime in one or more text. What kind of social interaction is a crime, and how does that relate to the larger set of social interactions in the city? How does crime arise (does it come from the sinful nature of humanity; social inequities; natural forces; somewhere else)? What does the depiction of criminals and criminal behavior tell us about how these texts view the city?

3. Several of the texts we have considered (Maggie, Rear Window, Hiding Place) depict urban life as something akin to small-town, village, or even rural life. Why do the texts invite this comparison and blur the lines between city and country? Is there an implied value judgment in either direction (small towns are better than cities, or the opposite)? If a city neighborhood seems to embody a village or rural setting, what does that imply about urban inhabitants and their interactions? You might wish to compare an urban example with the small-town life in Twin Peaks.

4. Trace images of machines and/or technology in one or more texts. How do people relate to technology, and how does it change the ordinary human relationship with the environment and with one another? Do characters resist the impact of the mechanical on their world—or conversely, do they invite it—and why? Look for figurative language as well as for literal examples of technology.

5. What is it like to live in an apartment? Examine one or two of the texts that depict apartment life or compare apartments to houses (Crane, Hitchcock, James, Scott) and analyze the impact of the apartment on ideas of personhood. What specific elements of apartment life are different from the experience of living in a house? How does the physical structure of apartment life impact one’s idea of oneself, one’s relationship to friends and family, one’s relationship to strangers, one’s relationship to the public? If a house typically represents the private, the personal, the domestic—and by extension, the inner self—what does an apartment represent? Use specific examples.

Anthony's question: James

In James' short story "The Jolly Corner," the readers are introduced to the fifty six year old Spencer Brydon. Brydon becomes engrossed with the search for his past life, or "alter ego" (176). However, Brydon soon realizes that his idea of his past life has a physical form. What is the function of giving this idea physical form, a ghostly one at that? At some points in the story, his pursuit is referred to as a challenge,

"he had tasted of no pleasure so fine as his actual tension, had been introduced to no sport that demanded at once the patience and the nerve of stalking a creature more subtle, yet at bay perhaps more formidable, that any beast in the jungle" (175).

Is this a healthy pursuit? Or does Brydon lose himself in the idea of attaining something he can't have? Where else in our readings have we seen characters attempting to attain something and how has that worked for them?

Stieglitz photographs

The Terminal (1892)

Winter on Fifth Avenue (1893)

Flatiron Building (1903)

The Steerage (1907)

From the Back Window, "291" (1915)

From the Sheldon (1935)

All images from Masters of Photography:
http://www.masters-of-photography.com/S/stieglitz/stieglitz.html

Twin Peaks: cinematic allusions

Here is a short YouTube guide to a few of David Lynch and Mark Frost's influences and allusions. Please take a quick look at these before class (should take no more than 15 minutes). These are certainly not the only influences, but they should give you a little bit of insight into the show's unusual aesthetic and the somewhat artificial acting style that you have all noticed.

Film Noir:

Trailer for "Double Indemnity"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3wjJcuGsVE

Trailer for "Laura"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6f8jRplej8&feature=related

TV detective show "Dragnet"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxhuUdZzGYw

Iconic 1950s rebellious-teenager movies:

West Side Story (two of the main Twin Peaks actors, Leland Palmer [Laura's father] and Dr. Jacoby, were also lead actors in West Side Story as young men)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exGJsv6ZNlo

Rebel Without a Cause
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3EJuGAke5E&feature=related

Sean's post: Twin Peaks

First off, sorry for the late post everybody hope you have enough time to get your comments in. After getting over the bad acting that so many early 90's tv shows seem to have I noticed a few things to consider about the episode. The first is Agent Cooper's similarity to Dupin and the "Rue Morgue" story. He is an outsider coming in to a "shaken up" community; his quarky personality seperates him from the culture but also allows him to interact somewhat normally. Truman is obviously the sidekick/narrator and is always just a little behind Cooper. He also picks up on the most minor details (fingernail) which the crime depends on. What is so significant about Cooper's role in the crime/town? Do you think that his outside perspective will truly help them to solve the murder, or do you think the fact that Truman knows the characters of the town so well he will be able to unmask the killer by examining their personalities and actions.
Another big theme that I found was the anti-feminist nature of the show. This might not have relevance to solving the crime, and it might just be the time in which it was made, but Twin Peaks is absurdly overcharged with masculinity. It is almost comical how Bobby and Mike treat women. Mike screams at Donna to get down to the police station to support Bobby when her friend was just murdered. Also the physical abuse in the bar is somewhat distrubing considering a teenage girl had just been murdered and another raped and abused. The men that show emotion in the film are also portrayed in a weak or in an insecure way. The photographer who cries after seeing Laura's body is scolded, and told not to do it again. Also the gas station attendant, who seems to be the only nice guy (besides Cooper) in the episode is both verbally abused (by his pirate wife) and physically abused (by bobby when he tries to save Donna). James is barked at not sure why) in the jail cell and seems to be near a head cracking simply for caring about Bobby's girlfriend more than he ever did. Do you think that this is a major theme of the show, seeing as three girls were raped and murdered by a mysterious (most likely male) killer. Do you think the writers are purposely addressing this theme or is it all relative to the time in which the show was made? Lastly, what do you make of the moral values of almost every character in the shows? It seems every other person is cheating, going behind their significant other's back, or having a secret affair of some sort. Is this just to add another more sexual dimension to the show and turn it into a soap opera, or do you think it will have some significance in the end?

Claire's post: Rear Window

The setting of the movie Rear Window is surprisingly reminiscent of the tenements found in Maggie. Buildings facing each other, windows wide open; there is a strong sense that the individuals who live there ought to have some impact on the lives of those around them. We see, however, in their varied social routines, from the impassioned cries of the lady with the murdered dog, in the sad plight of ‘Miss Lonelyheart’, that the people only affect each other in a peripheral manner- the film really introduces the concept of a personal space, where individuals interact in private. Of course, the premise of the movie follows the life of one man who spies into all of these hidden moments. What does Hitcock mean to say about the nature of the private space, or the nature of public space? It is clear that nearly all the tenants suffered from a sense of disconnection or estrangement. Could Mrs. Thorwald have been saved in anyone in the building thought to ask after her? Was the invasion of privacy worth the cost if it brought a murderer to justice? Are the private and public spaces really as separate as they first appear?

Hitchcock also observes quite a bit about human nature and its wish to perform. Lisa is purported never to wear the same dress twice, but Jefferies is most entertained by people in their unstudied state, how they act when they feel they can stop putting on a show. Similarly Lisa and Stella are immediately drawn in to the drama. What fascination exists in viewing other people’s intimate moments that would cause Jefferies to cease his romanticisms with Lisa for-- put all their lives in danger for? Does this drive exist in all of us? How does Hitchcock present the ethics of window-peeping?

Close reading assignment

Due Friday, November 21 at 4 p.m.

Choose a paragraph/passage from "The Bear," Cane, Ceremony, or "Brokeback Mountain" and write a 2-3 page close reading. In your analysis, focus on how and why the author (or narrator) uses specific words, images, and metaphors. Look up vocabulary and allusions that you're not certain of. Although your primary task is to examine and analyze this passage in detail, you should give some sense of the context of this passage in the larger work and connect the themes of this passage to the larger set of themes that we have discussed in class. Before you begin, you should go back and re-read the section surrounding your passage. You do not need to include a traditional introduction and conclusion for this paper.

Below are some suggested passages. Please feel free to use these or choose your own. If you select your own, please print it out and include it with your essay. Don't choose a passage that we've already discussed at length in class.

From "The Bear" (pp. 142-43)
His day came at last. In the surrey with his cousin and Major de Spain and General Compson he saw the wilderness through a slow drizzle of November rain just above the ice point as it seemed to him later he always saw it or at least always remembered it--the tall and endless wall of dense November woods under the dissolving afternoon and the year's death, sombre, impenetrable (he could not even discern yet how, at what point they could possibly hope to enter it even though he knew that Sam Fathers was waiting there with the wagon), the surrey moving through the skeleton stalks of cotton and corn in the last of open country, the last trace of man's puny gnawing into the immemorial flank, until, dwarfed by that perspective into an almost ridiculous diminishment, the surrey itself seemed to have ceased to move (this too to be completed later, years later, after he had grown to a man and seen the sea) as a solitary small boat hangs in lonely immobility, merely tossing up and down, in the infinite waste of the ocean while the water and then the apparently impenetrable land which it nears without appreciable progress, swings slowly and opens the widening inlet which is the anchorage. He entered it. Sam was waiting, wrapped in a quilt on the wagon seat behind the patient and steaming mules. He entered his novitiate to the true wilderness with Sam beside him as he had begun his apprenticeship in miniature to manhood after the rabbits and such with Sam beside him....

From "Fern," in Cane (p. 17)
Like her face, the whole countryside seemed to flow into her eyes. Flowed into them with the soft listless cadence of Georgia's South. A young Negro, once, was looking at her, spellbound, from the road. A white man passing in a buggy had to flick him with his whip if he was going to get by without running him over. I first saw her on her porch. I was passing with a fellow whose crusty numbness (I was from the North and suspected of being prejudiced and stuck-up) was melting as he found me warm. I asked him who she was. "That's Fern," was all that I could get from him. Some folks already thought that I was given to nosing around; I let it go at that, so far as questions were concerned. But at first sight of her I felt as if I heard a Jewish cantor sing. As if his singing rose above the unheard chorus of a folk-song. And I felt bound to her. I too had my dreams: something I would do for her. I have knocked about from town to town too much not to know the futility of mere change of place. Besides, picture if you can, this cream-colored solitary girl sitting at a tenement window looking down on the indifferent throngs of Harlem. Better that she listen to folk-songs at dusk in Georgia, you would sawy, and so would I.

From "Brokeback Mountain" (p. 278)
Like vast clouds of steam from thermal springs in winter the years of things unsaid and now unsayable--admissions, declarations, shames, guilts, fears--rose around them. Ennis stood as if heart-shot, face grey and deep-lined, grimacing, eyes screwed shut, fists clenched, legs caving, hit the ground on his knees.
"Jesus," said Jack. "Ennis?" But before he was out of the truck, trying to guess if it was heart attack or the overflow of incendiary rage, Ennis was back on his feet and somehow, as a coat hanger is straightened to open a locked car and then bent again to its original shape, they torqued things almost to where they had been, for what they'd said was no news. Nothing ended, nothing begun, nothing resolved.

From Ceremony (p. 226 in my version)
The yellow bull grazed in open view, but the speckled cows stayed in the juniper, listening like deer to Tayo's approach, their spotted hides blending into the sandy talus of the big mesa. Gradually they appeared, cautiously joining the yellow bull. Tayo sat motionless with his back against the small cottonwood tree growing in the wash. The cows kept their bodies between him and the new calves, but occasionally a calf bolted away, bucking and leaping in a wide arc, returning finally to its mother when it was tired of playing. Tayo's heart beat fast; he could see Josiah's vision emerging, he could see the story taking form in bone and muscle.

Ashley's post: Poe

In Poe’s "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," the ideas of observation, analysis, and perception are explored. Poe begins his tale with an explanation of the term analysis, pointing out that “to calculate is not in itself to analyse” (397). He later writes “the analyst is necessarily ingenious, the ingenious man is often remarkably incapable of analysis” (399). What exactly does Poe mean by this? Do you agree with the statement?
Also, the character Dupin is described as having “analytical ability,” (401) (clearly evident when he solves the mystery of the murders in the Rue Morgue). While the entire Parisian police are unable to see the answer, Dupin is able to objectively view the crime and effectively solve the case. He comments on the police’s inability to do this, specifically noting what Vidocq was doing wrong. He states “He impaired his vision by holding the object too close. He might see, perhaps, one or two points with unusual clearness, but in so doing he, necessarily, lost sight of the matter as a whole. Thus there is such a thing as being too profound. Truth is not always in a well” (412). What does Poe mean by this statement? How does it connect to the explanation of analysis offered in the opening of the story? Furthermore, how does this relate to what we were talking about in class regarding observation and display?

Jacob Riis photographs

From the Introduction to Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives (1890):
"Long ago it was said that 'one half of the world does not know how the other half lives.' That was true then. It did not know because it did not care. The half that was on top cared little for the struggles, and less for the fate of those who were underneath, so long as it was able to hold them there and keep its own seat. There came a time when the discomfort and crowding below were so great, and the consequent upheavals so violent, that it was no longer an easy thing to do, and then the upper half fell to inquiring what was the matter. ....What are you going to do about it? is the question of to-day."

Jacob Riis, a journalist and photographer, published many photographs of New York City life. He was a pioneer of documentary photography and was one of the first photographers to use a flash, allowing him to show the interiors of dark, windowless tenements. Some of his photographs were journalistic; others were staged or artfully arranged (though using real inhabitants of the neighborhoods). Click here for a slideshow of more of Riis's photographs.
Jacob Riis Slideshow


Five Cents' Lodging


Bandits' Roost

Erin's post: Maggie

In the novel Maggie: A Girl of the Streets the two main characters, Jim and Maggie, seem to feel a loss of identity within their own homes. Throughout the novel Crane’s description of the tenement homes, is not a flattering one. For example in the opening he describes the building saying it “quivered and creaked from the weight of humanity stepping about in its bowels”(7). When Jim is within his own home, the story becomes more and more blurred. For example his father becomes “the father,” “the husband” and even “the man." The same goes for his mother who becomes “the wife” and “the woman.” Jim himself becomes “the urchin”(15) within his own home. What is Crane's reason for doing this in the story? Is it to show that Jim’s real comfort lies in the outside world rather than in his own home? When describing Jim Crane states that, “On the corners he was in life and of life. The world was going on and he was there to perceive it?”(18). What can we make of this statement as readers?

Tara P's post: O'Hara

In contrast to what we have read thus far, Frank O’Hara’s Lunch Poems deal with the built environment. However, in some of O’Hara’s poems he mentions elements of the natural world alongside his descriptions of the urban setting. For example, in the poem “Cambridge” he describes cotton fruit and winter trees. In “On the Way to San Remo” he describes how “the act of love is also passing like a subway bison” and how “bars are for rabbits.” Why do you think he does this? Also, in some of his poems such as “Song” and “Three Airs” O’Hara seems to have a negative view of the city, whereas in other poems he seems to see the city in a more positive light. Why do you think he has these different views? Overall, what do you think his opinion of the built environment is?

The original magic bus?

Thoreau and Into the Wild articles

Here's a New York Times article from today about how Thoreau's notes and journals are being used to track climate change in New England over the last 150 years. A funny line from one of the researchers: "Thoreau had incredibly messy handwriting. That was a big difficulty."

And a National Geographic Adventure article about Sean Penn, Jon Krakauer, and the making of Into the Wild.

Click for the links:

Thoreau Is Rediscovered as a Climatologist

Back into the Wild

Eric's post: Into the Wild

The story of Into the Wild has many parallels with what we have read so far this semester. Chris McCandless in many regards practiced the ideals Henry Thoreau set out for in Walden. He set out to live a life alone, meeting new people along the way, but never building relationships because the “joy in life does not come principally from the presence of human relationships. It comes from the experiences.” However, we see Chris change his mind on this conclusion near the end of his ‘adventure.’

How would you compare this ‘adventure’ had with Thoreau’s ideology from Walden? When Chris finally does get to Alaska, describe the ‘magic bus.’ What did it mean to him? It was here in Alaska where he would fight the climactic battle to “kill the false being within to victoriously conclude spiritual revolution.” Does he accomplish his goal he set out for?

Chris says that it is good to feel strong. We all need to measure ourselves at least once. Do you agree? If so, why? How will you accomplish this? Finally, do you agree with his conclusion at the end of the film when he writes into the book he was reading for all the answers about life, that happiness is only real when shared?

Brokeback Mountain

Here are a few questions to ponder on "Brokeback Mountain." Posting a comment is optional, but be sure to think these over before class.

1. What landscapes do Jack and Ennis inhabit, and how do those landscapes correspond to their lives at different points in the story? Why don't they ever return to Brokeback Mountain?

2. Why does Proulx make Ennis, and not Jack, the main character?

3. Think about how Proulx uses place names, and what, in a larger sense, these Western place-names tell us about the culture. Some of the places are real (Riverton, Lightning Flat), some are semi-real (there is apparently a place named Brokenback Peak), and some are fictional. Look at the list at the bottom of p. 273.

4. This is one of a few accounts of American boyhood/young manhood/coming-of-age-in-the-wilderness stories we have read (including "The Bear" and "Ceremony," and bits of Leopold too). You've certainly encountered others in your own personal reading/film/TV watching, along with other stories of life in the West, on the frontier. Do we see this story either fitting into or resisting any particular American literary or cultural tradition?

5. As you read, pay particular attention to Proulx's language and her pacing. How does she use sounds? What kind of vocabulary does she use? At what points does her language seem to speed up, and at what points slow down, and why? Bring an example of a particular phrase or sentence that seems striking to you.

Concord trip

Here are the photos from our splendid day in Concord. For this week's blog discussion, let's talk about our experience with the following questions:

-What was your experience of seeing Walden after having read Thoreau? How was your impression of the pond shaped by his writing, and conversely, how did your version of Walden as a "place" differ from or resist Thoreau's version?

-We talked about "layers of narratives" in several of our texts so far this semester. (e.g. the way that Leopold sees in a single scene the natural history of the landscape; the history of settlement; the scene as seen from an animal's point of view; and his own personal farm. The Hawthorne passage that we read out loud at the Old Manse similarly looked at this small patch of land through the lens of his own personal history, the history of the Revolutionary battle, the history of a single boy at the scene, and the mythical-historical Native American settlement.) What layers of narrative did we witness today?

-What effect does the tourist industry have on these places as places? What effect does it have on Thoreau for us to turn him into a tourist attraction, taking a bus to go see the site of his house? Why do we even want to see his house? What other literary/historical tourist attractions have you been to? How can we analyze the types of products offered for sale in the shops? (see photos below.)

Everyone fit inside the replica cabin:


Tara and Thoreau holding hands in front of the cabin


The actual site of Thoreau's cabin:



Along the trail







This guy was either a really bad kayaker or was practicing his rolls.


Lunch overlooking the Old Manse and the Old North Bridge


The Old Manse (home of Hawthorne and Emerson)




Views from the Old North Bridge




Orchard House (home of the Alcotts)


The Wayside (home of the Alcotts and the Hawthornes)


In the shops:
Official Thoreau basket weaving kit


The T-shirt gallery:




Huckleberry Tea and other random treats


Walking sticks


"Scrabble" figurines (this is the mouse that hung out with Jo March in the attic while she wrote. The mouse is not a major character in Little Women.) (Please ignore my ghostly image taking the picture with my cell phone.)


Little Women sachet dolls. Just below this shot is a freaky doll with working eyelids that costs several hundred dollars.

Sandpainting: and the extra credit goes to...me.

Here are two articles on sandpainting. Both focus on the Navajo tradition, but describe a tradition very similar to the Laguna sandpainting ceremony found in Ceremony. They answer some of the questions from class (what do the various colors and images represent; what materials are used; what happens to the sandpainting after the ceremony).

http://www.hanksville.org/voyage/navajo/sandpaintings.php3

http://www.collectorsguide.com/fa/fa083.shtml (This one is from a "collectors' guide" website--ironic since true sandpaintings are temporary and ceremonial, and could not be collected. There are non-ceremonial sandpaintings for sale with sand glued on, and some sandpaintings' images are translated into woven rugs.)

Built environment analysis

For this 3-4 page paper, you will be writing an analysis of a "built environment," by which I mean buildings and human structures. You have two choices for how to approach this essay. Both choices involve some amount of research; do not just sit in front of a building and guess at its history. If you need help figuring out how to begin your research, you might have a conversation with a librarian at the Stonehill library.

Option A
Choose a building (or closely-related group of buildings) to analyze. This could be anything from your Stonehill dorm to a skyscraper in Boston to a department store to your hometown post office, but it should be a building you have seen in person and feel familiarity with. Research some basic background about the building's history, and then analyze what the physical structure of the building tells us about its social and cultural function.

Here are some questions you might begin with.

1) History: when was the building built? By whom and for what purpose? Does its current use conform with its original use, and if it's changed, why? What is the building called and why? For these questions especially, you should not speculate but find some actual facts.
2) What is the building made of? What does its shape and structure look like? What does that external appearance tell us about the building's function? Does it have a particular style of architecture? Does it attempt to look futuristic; historical; utilitarian; playful...? and why?
3) What do its surroundings look like and how does the building fit into its context? Does it blend seamlessly; stick out in contrast; reflect certain elements but not others?
4) Who uses the building, and for what? How does the building fit (or not fit) that population and that purpose?
5) What kinds of social relationships does the architecture of the building invite, and what kinds does it discourage? What kinds of cultural roles does it value? Does it imply a certain kind of family? a certain kind of community? a certain kind of work atmosphere? a certain kind of consumer?

Option B
Interview a family member or two in order to write a brief history of the homes your family members have inhabited over time. You should analyze two or three different homes over two or three generations (so, for instance, your current family house, your mother's childhood house, and perhaps her mother's house). Write an analysis of what the physical structure of those homes tells us about ideas of family and the larger social and cultural role of the home, and how those ideas have changed over the generations. Some ideas to consider:

1) What do those structures look like on the outside and what values does that appearance project? Consider: the style of architecture; materials used; lawn/garden/green space or lack thereof; driveway, garage, outbuildings; etc.
2) What is the relationship of the building to the street? to other buildings in the neighborhood? Do the building and its surroundings encourage social relationships with neighbors? Does it encourage privacy? How would a visitor approach the building: on foot? in a car?
3) How are the rooms laid out and what does that arrangement tell you? What social function does each room have? Do some rooms have more than one function? Are some rooms "private" family space and others more "public"? What attitude does the physical structure suggest toward outside visitors? toward play and work?
4) Does the home's architecture suggest particular roles for men, women, and children? Do those roles change from generation to generation, or do they persist over time?

Other Ceremony questions

Think about the following questions before class tomorrow. You do not have to post comments on these (although you're welcome to if you feel like it). The question you have to comment on is in a separate post below.

-Re-read the section where Betonie makes a sand painting (around p. 140--poems with "eh-hey-yah-ah-na!"). Think about what the sand painting represents in terms of space/place; in making a representation of landscape around Tayo, what are they trying to accomplish?

-Also in relation to the sand-painting scene, think about images of tracking. Betonie's chant says, "Following my footprints / walk home..." There are many examples of tracking, including Tayo and the cows and the bear child story. What other examples of tracking can you find, and what do you think it symbolizes in the novel?

-What role does Helen Jean play? Why does Silko decide to tell us her background story and narrate part of the story from her perspective?

-Why does Silko include the visual representation of stars? How does that image work differently than a written description?

Field trip details

We're off to Concord this Sunday, October 19! The bus will leave from the Duffy parking lot at 11 A.M. Plan to be there a few minutes early. Don't be late, or the bus will leave without you!

The forecast is for cool weather, and we will be outside almost the entire time. Dress in warm layers and wear shoes appropriate for walking on potentially muddy trails.

You should bring something to eat and drink for lunch. We'll stop to eat at around 1:00.

The subsidized fee for Orchard house is $4. Please bring the money to class on Thursday (although if you forget I can collect it on the field trip). The English Dept. will cover anyone who is uncertain about their ability to pay.

Our approximate schedule:

Depart Stonehill: 11:00

Walden Pond: 12:00-1:30. We will walk the trail around the pond, view the replica of Thoreau's house, and visit the original site of the house.



The Old Manse and The Old North Bridge: 1:30-2:30. The Old Manse was inhabited by both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Old North Bridge was the site of the first shots of the American Revolution. If time permits, we may stop at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to see the graves of Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, and others.





Orchard House: 3:00-4:00. Home of the Alcotts. We will take a tour of the house, and see the neighboring homes of Hawthorne and Emerson.


Depart Concord: 4:00. Return to Stonehill by 5:00.

Ceremony II

At the climax of Ceremony (the novel) and of Tayo's ceremony, Tayo must watch Harley being tormented by Emo; he feels the desire to "[jam] the screwdriver into Emo's skull," but he remains as an observer and does not act. Why must Tayo stay passive in this scene? How does that help his "recovery," and what exactly does Tayo achieve at the completion of his ceremony? To what extent must Tayo act in either a passive or an active way in the earlier components of the ceremony?

Conversely, how might we describe the journey of Emo, Harley, Pinkie, and Leroy as an anti-ceremony? What does Silko mean when she says, "Their deadly ritual for the autumn solstice would have been completed by him"? (253 in my book; paragraph beginning "The moon was lost in a cloud bank.")

You don't need to answer all of these questions, but this should give us plenty of room for discussion.

Grading Standards

These are the general standards I use when grading papers. (This rubric is adapted from a handout by Kerry Walk, Director of the Princeton Writing Program.)

A paper in the A range deploys these “Elements of the Essay” with exceptional grace and mastery:
• Thesis: interesting, arguable, incisive; sufficiently limited in scope; usually stated early on and present throughout
• Structure: logical, progressive (not just a list), supple (invites complications, consideration of counterarguments), with strong and obvious links between points; coherent, well-organized paragraphs
• Evidence: sufficient, appropriate, and well-chosen; presented in a readable and understandable way
• Analysis: insightful and fresh; more than summary or paraphrase; shows how evidence supports thesis; may dwell in depth on one or two key examples
• Style: clear and conversational yet sophisticated; diction level appropriate to audience; smooth, stimulating, a pleasure to read

A B-range paper may in part resemble an A range paper but may also exhibit any of the following qualities:
• Thesis: arguable but may be vague or uninteresting, or feature unintegrated parts; may be only implied, not stated early on; may not be argued throughout, disappears in places
• Structure: generally logical but either confusing in places (big jumps, missing links) or overly predictable and undeveloped; few complications or considerations of counter-arguments; some disorganized paragraphs (either bloated or skimpy; could be confusing)
• Evidence: generally solid but may be scanty or presented as undigested quotations
• Analysis: at times insightful but sometimes missing or mere summary; makes inconsistent connections between evidence and thesis
• Style: generally clear but lacking in sophistication; may be weighed down by fancy diction meant to impress; may exhibit some errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, and format

A C-range paper may in part resemble a B range paper but may also exhibit any of the following qualities:
• Thesis: vague, descriptive, or confusing; parts unintegrated (e.g., three unrelated prongs); only implied or not stated early on; not argued throughout, disappears in places
• Structure: confusing (big jumps, missing links) or overly predictable; few complications or considerations of counter-arguments; disorganized paragraphs, often headed with descriptive (versus argumentative) topic sentences
• Evidence: either missing or presented as undigested quotations; may be taken out of context
• Analysis: some insightful moments but generally either missing or mere summary; may present some misreadings
• Style: may be generally unclear and hard to read, or simplistic; may evince many technical errors

A D-range paper may in part resemble a C range paper but may also exhibit any of the following qualities:
• Thesis: missing or purely descriptive (an observation or statement of fact), or may be a total misreading
• Structure: confusing; little focused development (paper usually short but may be rambling); disorganized paragraphs (also usually short); missing, garbled, or purely descriptive topic sentences (plot summary)
• Evidence: very few examples; undigested quotations; taken out of context
• Analysis: missing or based on misinterpretations or mere summary
• Style: either simplistic or difficult to read; probably riddled with technical errors

Ceremony

Silko begins Ceremony with a poem about the power of stories:

Don't be fooled.
They are all we have, you see,
all we have to fight off illness and death. (2)

Similarly, in a war flashback, describing the long march to prison camp, Tayo tells "a story for all of them, a story to give them strength. The words of the story poured out of his mouth as if they had substance, pebbles and stone extending to keep the corporal up, to keep his knees from buckling..." (12).

Yet Tayo seems to have nearly stopped telling stories--at least out loud--when he returns home after the war. What is the status of stories as the novel begins? What are some examples of "healing" stories--or stories that "wound"? In particular, what is the connection between storytelling and place? Silko describes Tayo's story as having physical "substance;" the act of telling a story is like an act of building. Can we say that stories create place, and how so?

Help!! Faulkner plot questions thread

Use the comments section to help one another out with plot questions or any other questions you have about "The Bear." I will check in periodically to comment as well.

For example: what's going on on pp. 198-220, as Ike is deciphering why Eunice, the slave, drowned herself?

Click to view larger version of family tree.

Max's post: Faulkner

Faulkner’s story “the bear” is about a succession of hunting seasons where a group of hunters try and track and kill a bear they deem “Old Ben”. In the beginning “Old Ben” is portrayed as a beast having “furious immortality” in which “ran not even a mortal beast but an anachronism indomitable and invincible”. But as the story wears on the hunters get closer and closer to killing him, readers get to see that he isn’t impregnable. Do you think that Faulkner is using “Old Ben” as a symbol for nature and how humanity attempts to dominate and control it? The nearer the hunters draw to the kill, the harder it gets for them to survive and prosper. Do you think that there is any meaning in this? Is Faulkner saying that the more we exploit nature the harder it will be for us?

Tara's post: Dickinson: 280

Well after "reading" Emily Dickinson, and then rereading, I was overwhelmed with the dense metaphors and unusual use of capitalization and punctuation within the poems. Looking specifically at poem 280, it is noticed that Dickinson's poems have a tendency to focus on the morbid aspects of life, that of death, illness, and the act of dying. I envisioned a funeral taking place while I was reading, with the mourners passing the coffin to pay their respects, followed by the service and then the closing of the coffin. It is as though the speaker is the deceased, and is looking at those mourning his/her death.



"As all the Heavens were a Bell,

And Being, but an Ear,

And I, and Silence, some strange Race

Wrecked, solitary, here-"

-Taken from 280



From the above passage, I seemed to grasp that the speaker is unable to engage with the others since he/she is deceased, but this different point of view is one that can only be gained once one has died. Is Dickinson stating that death is not the end of life, but rather a different form in which the body may be deceased, but the soul lives on? How does the soul as an eternal figure tie in with the religious language that Dickinson portrays in this poem, as well as others?

Song of Myself

"For every atom belonging to me as good as belongs to you." (l. 3)

How would you describe the status of the body in Whitman's poem At what points in the poem does Whitman have a strong bodily presence and at what points does he seem bodiless? To what extent is Whitman's "Me" dependent on his physical self? How does he relate to other people: as bodies? as souls? Find an example to discuss that seems important, or relevant, or weird.

Reading Whitman for the first time can be a disorienting experience. In addition to responding to the question above, feel free to post questions that came up for you while reading.

Thoreau/Leopold essay questions

Listed below are essay topics for the assignment due Thursday, Sept. 25. You should choose one of the following topics as your starting point for a 4-6 page analytical essay. Although you should pay close attention to the stated questions as you plan the essay, I encourage you narrow the topic and tailor it to your own argument; you need not address every element of the essay topic. Above all, you should ground your essay in detailed close readings and specific quotations and evidence, and you should structure your essay around a sharply articulated argument.

You may design your own essay topic if you wish, but you must clear it with me first.

For this Thursday, Sept. 18, re-read or skim your chosen text and collect pieces of evidence that might work to support a paper on one of these topics. This will not be quick: it should take at least an hour or two. Make a list of the evidence that you find. You can be generous and creative: each piece doesn’t necessarily have to fit the topic exactly; the idea is to collect anything that might be useful, and worry later about which pieces you’re actually going to use.

You should list at least 10-20 bits of evidence—these can be as small as a single word or phrase, or as large as a few paragraphs. You do not need to give the entire quotation, but you should indicate with a few words or a sentence what the quotation says and how it might be important. Look for both literal and figurative evidence (e.g., if you are writing on Thoreau and houses, examine his actual description of his and other houses, but also look for metaphors that use the idea of a house).

Bring three copies of your evidence list to class.

1. How does Thoreau define 'home,' and to what extent does he apply the notion of home to his house at Walden? Is his house his home, or is 'home' a more fluid concept for Thoreau? How important is it that Thoreau dwells in a particular place? Do other people and beings have homes? In studying Thoreau's definition of home, you might consider images of hospitality and/or property.

2. Examine the status of reading (or the figure of the reader) in either Thoreau or Leopold.
-For Thoreau: analyze his copious use of literary, religious, and cultural allusions. Choose either a particular type of allusion (i.e., Classical mythology, Eastern religions) or analyze the intersection of different allusions in a single section. How does he intertwine the 'natural' and the everyday with the world of art and myth, and for what purpose? How do these allusions relate to the status of actual books--for example, as the libraries of translated classics in his contemporaries' homes, or the physical books that are object of exchange in the marketplace?

-For Leopold: Although Leopold is less wildly allusive than Thoreau, he, too, frequently uses literary and cultural allusions. Analyze their role in his work; how does the divide between Leopold's ordinary life and these cultural myths inform his theories? How does he use allusions to appeal to readers' ethical development? How do specifically American "spit-rail" folk figures such as Daniel Boone relate to European and/or ancient references? The opening sections of "The Land Ethic," which refers to The Odyssey, the Bible (e.g. the Mosaic Decalogue, or the Ten Commandments), and American pioneers like Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton, would be a good starting place.

3. Analyze ideas of agriculture and farming in Thoreau and/or Leopold. Leopold owns a (defunct) farm; Thoreau (hypothetically) considers buying one. Leopold manages forest land and animal populations as his profession; Thoreau 'farms' his land at Walden. How does each of them use ideas of agriculture and animal husbandry? What is the relationship of cultivated land or "crop" animals (as Leopold puts it) to their wild counterparts?

4. Analyze the role of gender in either Leopold or Thoreau. To what extent are their concerns, their theories, and their language particularly masculine, or not? What role does the feminine (either actual women/girls or female-ness, figuratively speaking) play in their work? Possible angles for your analysis: the role of sexuality and reproduction; the sentimental vs. the scientific; or American cultural myths and their association with gender.

Sand County Almanac

How important is Aldo Leopold as a character and a "self" in A Sand County Almanac? How autobiographical or personal is this text? By extension, to what extend do you see SCA as anthropocentric (human-centered) vs. ecocentric (environment-centered)? Is Sand County a place, defined by Lawrence Buell as "space humanized," or a space, "the material world taken on its own terms"?

Point to specific examples or passages, interpret the question as you see fit, and try to respond to your fellow commenters in your response.

Assignment: Nature Meditation

Due in class Thursday, September 11

Your assignment is to “go to the woods” and write a 3 page meditation on nature using some of the techniques of Thoreau and/or Leopold. This piece should reflect your own perspective—you need not imitate every element of Thoreau or Leopold's style—but use their work for inspiration and guidance.

Find a place on Stonehill’s campus to sit or walk and contemplate your surroundings. Do not rush this process! You may want to take notes or make sketches while you are there. I highly recommend the Chet Raymo nature trail as a place to begin, though you can choose your own spot. You can see a map of the trail here (marked #3).

This site also has some information about the history of the Stonehill campus and its ecosystem, which might be of use to you.

Walden and Place

Peggy Noonan laments "the end of placeness" in her op/ed piece, marking it as a recent trend. To what extent do you think Thoreau would agree with Noonan that a strong sense of place is vital to understanding ourselves and maintaining "American culture"? How important is it that Thoreau is from a specific place (Concord, Walden Pond) as opposed to a more generalized place (any agricultural area near a city; any pond)? How does Thoreau define place, anyway?

Two ways of addressing this question:
-How does Thoreau use place-names (like Walden Pond) to privilege the specificity of place?
-Thoreau often uses references to other times, places, cultures, and works of literature; does this change our understanding of what place means?

Use specifics in your response!
See you tomorrow.

Welcome!

Welcome to the EN220 blog! We will use this blog to extend our in-class conversations and to share information outside of class.

Here are the basic rules and expectations:

1) Discussion questions for each week's reading will be posted by mid-day on Monday (as well as occasional Wednesdays when there is new material). Each of you should plan to check the blog on Monday and Wednesday afternoon/evening and participate in the online discussion. You may contribute to the discussion either Monday or Wednesday or both. You may choose to skip two weeks of discussion.

2) Each of you will sign up for one session to post the "starter" question on Monday. You should e-mail it to me no later than noon on Monday and I will post it. I will post my own questions on the weeks that no one has signed up.

3) While responses should engage with and respond to the starter question, they do not have to take the form of simply "answering the question." Think of this as an ideal class discussion: a question might draw direct answers, but it might also inspire new questions; and by the fifth or sixth comment the discussion may have developed a new focus. We should all make an effort to engage seriously in the starter question, while at the same time allowing conversation to grow and evolve.

4) Our goal in devising discussion questions, as well as in responding, should be to incite thought, debate, and engagement in the details of the text. There are many different ways to write a successful question. Here are two sample questions, one not-so-good and one better:

An ineffective question:
"What does Thoreau mean when he says that "At a certain season of our life we are accustomed to consider every spot as the possible site of a house"? (This question does not really engage with the quotation or give any direction or substance to the discussion. )

A more elaborate and more effective question:
Thoreau begins the chapter "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For" by saying, "At a certain season of our life we are accustomed to consider every spot as the possible site of a house." There are two analogies in this sentence: the seasons (time) and the house (place). Does Thoreau's house coexist with those seasons, or does the house protect him against them? In other words, does Thoreau imply here that time and place are in tension with one another or in harmony?

Happy blogging!
Professor Scales