Week 1

Jun. 4

Introduction

Escape and Interpretive Literature

Reading

• Escape literature v. escapist literature (Note that in this class we are using escape literature in the escapist meaning according to the definition presented on the Carson-Newman College website)

• Formula literature

Mapping the Action

Reading

• "Plot," Introduction to the Study of Fiction pp. 1–2

• Saki, "The Open Window" (1911)

  • Saki (Hector Hugh Munro) (bio by Saki's sister)

  • "Where the Wild Things Are" by Christopher Hitchens

  • "A Hundred Years of Saki" by Adam Frost (Chula network access only)

Discussion: plot: exposition, conflict, protagonist, antagonist, suspense, mystery, dilemma, surprise

Mapping Movement

Reading

• Plot

• Finish Introduction to the Study of Fiction pp. 1–7

• Ursula Le Guin, "A Discussion of Story"

Discussion: plot: endings, artistic unity, time sequence, complication/rising action, crisis, climax, conclusion, resolution/denouement

Plot

Reading

• Saki, "The Open Window" (1911)

  • Saki (Hector Hugh Munro) (bio by Saki's sister)

  • "Where the Wild Things Are" by Christopher Hitchens

  • "A Hundred Years of Saki" by Adam Frost (Chula network access only)

• Character (pages 2–3 in coursebook)

Discussion: presentation of characters: direct and indirect presentation; show v. tell

Plot

Reading

• Saki, "The Open Window" (1911)

Discussion: character: static and developing characters, flat and round characters

Characterization

Reading

• Susan Glaspell, "A Jury of Her Peers" (1917)

Discussion: character: consistency, motivation, plausibility

Characterization

Reading

• Susan Glaspell, "A Jury of Her Peers" (1917)

Discussion: characterization

Characterization

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love, to Chapter 5 (page 53)

  • Ian McEwan's Homepage

  • Contemporary Writers: Ian McEwan (biography, bibliography, critical perspective, author statement)

• Susan Glaspell, "A Jury of Her Peers" (1917)

• Study questions

  • How is characterization different or the similar in "The Open Window" and "A Jury of Her Peers"?

  • If so much is interrupted or incomplete in "A Jury of Her Peers," how is discovery or disclosure achieved?

  • Compare how the ending of the two stories reveal character through discovery. What information do you discover about the characters? How is that information given?

  • Examine how the two stories characterize characters who are not there. Pick an absent character in each of the story and consider the techniques used to present them to us and how that presentation affects our understanding of other characters and of the story.

  • Explore conflict in the two stories. Choose a conflict that interests you in the two stories. Who is involved? How is the conflict resolved, or doesn't it?

Discussion: characterization

Shapes of Character

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love, to Chapter 7 (page 68)

• Susan Glaspell, "A Jury of Her Peers" (1917)

Discussion: characterization

Point of View: Knowledge

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love, to Chapter 14 (page 125)

• Sally Benson, "The Overcoat" (1939)

Discussion: point of view

Point of View: Tone, Style

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love, to Chapter 17 (page 149)

• Sally Benson, "The Overcoat" (1939)

Discussion: irony

Student-led Discussion 12: Pancharle and Piyawan

Point of view

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love, to Chapter 21 (page 203)

• Sally Benson, "The Overcoat" (1939)

Discussion: point of view

Point of View

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love, to the end (page 247)

• Sally Benson, "The Overcoat" (1939)

Discussion: point of view

Test I and II (in class during our usual class time: BRK 313, 10–12; Test I will be on a short story that will be distributed a week before the test, and Test II will be on the novel Enduring Love by Ian McEwan; each test, covering plot, character and point of view, is an hour and worth 20 points; read through the tests and budget your time well)

Midterm Week (July 21–25, 2008)

Things and Meaning 1

Reading

• Kate Chopin, "The Story of an Hour" (1894)

• Irony

  • Irony (classical rhetoric)

  • Literary Devices: Irony (verbal, dramatic, situational)

  • Irony (verbal irony, dramatic irony, irony of situation)

  • Irony (dramatic, structural, verbal)

  • Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Irony

Discussion: irony, imagery, simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia

Things and Meaning 2

Reading

• Kate Chopin, "The Story of an Hour" (1894)

Discussion: symbolism, imagery, irony, setting

Things and Meaning 3

Reading

• Kate Chopin, "The Story of an Hour" (1894)

Discussion: symbolism, imagery, irony, setting

Things and Meaning 4

Reading

• Kate Chopin, "The Story of an Hour" (1894)

Discussion: symbolism, imagery, irony, setting

Theme

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997)

  • The Salon Interview: Ian McEwan

  • An Interview with Ian McEwan

  • Bold Type: An Interview with Ian McEwan

  • Ian McEwan: Enduring Love (reviews and criticism, study resources)

• Review theme and other literary terms

Discussion: themes: beginnings, narratives

Theme

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997)

Discussion: themes

Theme

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997)

Discussion: themes

Theme

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997)

Discussion: themes

Theme

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997)

Discussion: themes

Test III (in class during our usual class time: BRK 314, 8–9 a.m.) It will be on the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. You can order a copy from the BRK Photocopy Center or download it from

• "The Lottery" (1948) (pdf file)

• "The Lottery" (Word file)

Theme

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997)

Discussion: themes

Theme

Reading

• Ian McEwan, Enduring Love (1997)

Discussion: themes

Review

Discussion: short stories, Enduring Love, tests 1–3, final exam

Conference: Readings of Ian McEwan's Enduring Love (download detailed program as Word file)

Session 1: To Have or Not to Have Guilt: A Battle between Joe’s Morality and Instinct (Monchutha, Philailak, Sunisa)

Session 2: The Love of Joe Rose through Sternberg’s Triangle (Arthit, Navasorn, Apapan, Punyisa)

Conference: Readings of Ian McEwan's Enduring Love

Session 3: Limited Freedom, Expanded Horizons: The Paradoxical Relationship between Joe Rose and Jed Parry (Nantamas, Nadchanok, Pornprom)

Session 4: Aftermath of the Balloon Incident: Reshaped Identities and Relationships (Boonyanut, Manita, Nunchanock, Narisara)

Potluck Lunch

Conference: Readings of Ian McEwan's Enduring Love

Session 5: Judging Parry (Pansiri, Pimchanok, Pimphot, Prakaikaew)

Session 6: A Boomerang Character: The Unchanging Change of Parry (Narut, Natthaphong, Pongsanguan)

Final paper due, see some guidelines and sample papers below

• 7–10 pages

• MLA format

• Some writing guidelines:

  • "Some Matters of Form" by Yale University (writing guidelines; pdf file)

  • Writing Prose (handbook on college writing, Yale University; pdf file)

  • Writing about Literature

  • Writing Papers for English and Literature: A Word of Advice (also A Few Things to Remember)

  • The Craft of a Literature Paper

  • Writing a Literature Paper: Guidelines, Suggestions, Strategies

  • What Makes a Good Literature Paper?

  • Guide to Essay Writing (helpful reference, where to start, evidence, argument, what is a good essay)

  • Writing about Literature (elements of the essay, the writing process, the research essay, documentation)

  • Developing an Outline (pdf file)

  • How to Write an Outline

• Some sample papers:

  • "The Value of Restraint" by Amy Skerry (on Raymond Carver's short story "Cathedral"; Word file)

Final Exam (8:30–10:30 a.m.)

• Writing Exam Essays

• Pointers for Taking Essay Tests

• Writing Essay Exams (pdf file)

• Essay Exam Preparation (pdf file)

• Review literary terms