ENG 102 Winter 17: December 2017

Friday, December 29, 2017

ENG 102 ESSAY #2*** DUE THURSDAY Jan 4

I’ll be in my office from 9-11:30 on Wednesday Jan 3 to go over the paper with you!

2- 3 PAGES, DOUBLE SPACED, SIZE 12 TIMES NEW ROMAN

USE TWO OUTSIDE SOURCES (NOT INCLUDING THE TEXT!) AND QUOTE THE PRIMARY TEXTS AS WELL.

Refer to the class blog for outside source info: eng102winter17.blogspot.com

Pick ONE of the essay topics below for your paper.

Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

"The Temp" and "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" and Edward Scissorhands

1) Discuss the effects of Magical Stranger in Literature as seen in "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World", "The Temp" and Edward Scissorhands. Use at least two of these texts to display how a “magical stranger” comes into the lives of these people and changes how they look at themselves. Outside sources on different cultures would help answer this question.

2) We also discussed the importance society places on appearance when discussing "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World", "The Temp" and Edward Scissorhands. Use an example from at least two of these texts to explain how appearance played a role in their stories while discussing how important it is in today’s world

3) Use the sources on the blog that discuss office culture to explain how the office workers were positively influenced by the temp. What was it like before she got that? How did the workers feel about their jobs before and after? Why do people sometimes feel like this about their jobs?

“The Allegory of the Cave” and The Truman Show

4) Compare Truman from The Truman Show and the prisoner that is freed to view the outside world. Talk about how they were both “imprisoned,” achieved freedom through knowledge and what ends up happening to them.

5) Discuss three symbols (the sun, the cave, the chains, the outside world, the prisoners…to name a few) and explain what they may represent and their importance in “The Allegory of the Cave.”

“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas", "The Sisterhood of the Night" and The Village

6) One of the central themes found in “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” The Sisterhood of the Night,” and The Village is groupthink. Using at least TWO of these stories or film to explain how it played a role in each story. Refer to the blog for outside sources and be sure to use example from the primary texts as well as the outside sources.

7) Our class blog has a few articles about the Salem Witch Hunt and Trials; use those (or other reliable outside sources on the topic) to compare any similarities you see in “The Sisterhood of the Night.” It is often referred to as an updated version of the Salem Witch Hunt. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

8) Pick a few symbols from “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, “The Sisterhood of the Night” and The Village to explain how the stories address tradition and/or the idea of groupthink. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

9) Using ““The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,”can you think if any analogy of the child in the room in our society? If so, who is the child, and who suffers at its expense?

· DO NOT USE QUOTES IN INTRO OR CONCLUSION

· CITE AND QUOTE TWO OUTSIDE SOURCES

· DO NOT START OR END A PARAGRAPH WITH A QUOTE

· MAKE SURE QUOTES ARE 4 LINES OR SHORTER

Movies get italics and “Short Stories” get quotation marks

Thursday, December 28, 2017

“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" and "The Sisterhood of the Night"

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/13/opinion/david-brooks-the-child-in-the-basement.html?_r=0

http://www.tor.com/2015/11/19/ursula-k-le-guins-the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-is-beautiful-in-map-form/

http://www.jeffersonflanders.com/2006/07/ursula-k-le-guins-the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas/

http://www.teenink.com/reviews/book_reviews/article/133226/The-Ones-Who-Walk-Away-From-Omelas-by-Ursula-K-Le-Guin/

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/1/25/688925/-

Image result for the ones who walk away from omelas

Image result for the ones who walk away from omelas

The Sisterhood of the Night

The richest of the stories in this vein is ''The Sisterhood of Night,'' in which Millhauser adopts one of his familiar narrative voices -- the affable small-town archivist explaining some local peculiarity to an inquisitive stranger.

It seems that adolescent girls are going out at night in bands, seeking ''dark and secret places.'' Witchcraft is suspected, and also various unspeakable sexual perversions. ''What shall we do with our daughters?'' is the refrain of the adults. ''Tell us! we cry, our voices shrill with love. Tell us everything! Then we will forgive you.'' When the secret is revealed, we at first suspect that a joke is being made about teen-age girls and their ways. On reflection, we discover more complex meanings, to do with privacy, sanctuary and the unknowability of other minds. It is a lovely, haunting story, whose apparent simplicity masks its true depth.

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/10/reviews/980510.10mcgratt.html

Links about film:

http://www.thesisterhoodofnight-movie.com/

About the Salem Witch Trials:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-the-salem-witch-trials/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab6i&linkId=44074522

Interview with the author:

http://transatlantica.revues.org/562

Salem Witch Trials/Hunt:

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salem.htm

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/brief-salem.html

http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/home.html

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Edward Scissorhands

https://youtu.be/ajowVY7kLsQ

"The Temp" and "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World"

The Importance of appearance:
http://elitedaily.com/news/world/the-importance-of-appearances-man-dresses-as-homeless-man-to-prove-nobody-would-help-him-video/592301/

http://www.ridingthetiger.org/2013/03/19/the-importance-of-appearance/

http://www.byui.edu/Documents/Admin_Offices/Advising/PowerOfPersonalAppearance.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/a-facial-theory-of-politics.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Aw

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/appearances-mean-nothing-or-everything/?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Aw

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/fashion/26looks.html?pagewanted=all&module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Aw

Office Culture:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/01/opinion/sunday/why-you-hate-work.html?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=OP_WYH_20140602&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1388552400000&bicmet=1420088400000&_r=3

http://www.forbes.com/sites/vickvaishnavi/2013/03/28/five-must-follow-rules-for-a-successful-office-culture/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/office-culture/

http://www.immihelp.com/newcomer/work-culture-office-environment-usa.html

https://www.themuse.com/advice/rally-the-team-how-to-create-a-cool-office-culture

Culture:

These links discuss cultural differences and also provides a number of links if you go to the bottom of the page. Use the information they provide as outside sources if you are writing your essay about this subject:http://blue.butler.edu/~jfmcgrat/culture.htm

http://www.worldwide.edu/travel_planner/culture_shock.html

http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijps/article/view/4510

Here is one on the effects of culture shock:http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=effects+culture+shock&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ei=tIk6T-mJBaLn0QHXj5GXCw&ved=0CBoQgQMwAA

Links for "The Handsomest Drowned Man In the World":

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=THE+HANDSOMEST+DROWNED+MAN+IN+THE+WORLD&as_sdt=1%2C31&as_sdtp=

This week we will look at “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World”, “The Temp” and Edward Scissorhands in class. All three of these stories contain individuals that become part of a community in some way and have profound effects of the people. In “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” it is a corpse that washes ashore that gives the townspeople a new way of looking at their lives, in “The Temp” it is a temp hired in an office that changes the atmosphere of the wor enviroment and in Edward Scissorhands it is a unique young man that forces a rather boring town to see how boring and judgmental they really are. This week pay attention to what these “magical strangers” force the people in the stories to look at it in their lives.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

"Live For Today", "Mrs. Turner's Lawn Jockeys" and Identity

We will discuss identity and how we become who we are in "Mrs. Turner's Lawn Jockeys", "Live For Today" and Lion. We will see different characters and explore how they constructed their identity. Setting also plays a major role in these stories. We will look at how that effects these characters as well.

This link below has a wide variety of articles on how we construct identity.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/identity

Identity and choice:

http://gawker.com/how-i-identify-is-not-your-choice-1741671073

Newark and the surrounding area plays a big role in "Live For Today" and we will look at how that colors how people view the city and people from there. Here are some links about Newark:

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Newark-New-Jersey.html

http://libguides.rutgers.edu/content.php?pid=158675&sid=4109423

History of Lawn Jockeys

http://www.loudounhistory.org/history/underground-railroad-jockey-statues.htm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/16/AR2006091600851.html

http://wavy.com/2014/05/23/black-faced-lawn-jockey-creates-controversy-among-neighbors/

Image result for live for today graffiti

Friday, December 22, 2017

Essay 1

ESSAY #1*** DUE FRIDAY 12/29***

LATE PAPERS DO NOT GET REVISION AND LOSE POINTS

2-3PAGES, DOUBLE SPACED, SIZE 12 TIMES NEW ROMAN

USE TWO OUTSIDE SOURCES (NOT INCLUDING THE TEXT!) AND QUOTE THE PRIMARY TEXTS AS WELL.

Refer to the class blog for outside source info: eng102winter17.blogspot.com

ONLY RELIABLE SOURCES!

Pick ONE of the essay topics below for your paper.

“Live For Today”, “Mrs. Turner’s Lawn Jockeys” and Lion

1. Bernie and Emma put on black shoe polish so they will not be seen when they sneak out at night to paint the lawn jockeys white. Why could this been seen as symbolic? What is your understanding of blackface? Later on, Bernie says they are invisible—could there be more to that?

When they see their father in the kitchen as they are attempting to paint the jockeys, Bernie says to himself that his father is “thinking about who he used to be, who he is, who people think he is, and who he wants to become” (79). What does this mean?

Pick NO MORE THAN THREE characters from the three stories and explain how their identity is shaped or explained in their story. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources (links about identity on blog) to support your thesis.

Explain the relationship between Jinx in “Live For Today” and the victims that come into the morgue. Why does she seem to relate so well to them? What about her past makes her so sympathetic towards these people? Use examples from the texts along with outside sources (links about identity on blog) to support your thesis.

We talked in class about the reputation of Newark and how it is perceived by others. We also discussed how the morgue in the story could be symbolic for Newark (the forgotten members of society). For this question make the case that the morgue is indeed symbolic of Newark. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

Assimilation, The Namesake, "Brave We Are" and "Two Kinds"

6. Use examples from The Namesake, “Two Kinds” , “Brave We Are”, and from your own experience if it applies (and limit it to one paragraph) to explain the “new American” experience and the challenges of assimilation. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis. You must use at least one of the short stories as an example for this question.

We discussed how symbols were used in “Brave We Are” this week for the issues new Americans face. Discuss three (the meal, the song, the poem) of those symbols and explain their importance in the story. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.
In “Two Kinds” the mother puts a lot of pressure of her daughter to do well. This can be referred to as her “putting all her eggs in one basket”. Explain how she attempts to shape her daughter’s life in the story. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis. There are sources on the blog that discuss the pressure some Asian parents put on their children to succeed in school. These would work well as outside sources.
Food is clearly important in all cultures and we see that in “Brave We Are” and to a lesser extent in The Namesake; using examples from both of those texts OR JUST “Brave We Are” and two outside sources, explain what role food plays in culture. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

Notes from 12/22

Below is a quote from President Obama’s speech in 2012 about America. Keep it in mind for these two stories and the film we will watch this week.

“…The basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement. The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive.”

From a Washington Post Article on our class blog:

"It's difficult to adapt to the culture here," said Maria Jacinto, 32, who moved to the United States 10 years ago with her husband, Aristeo Jacinto, 36. "In the Hispanic tradition, the family comes first, not money. It's important for our children not to be influenced too much by the gueros," she said, using a term that means "blondies" but that she employs generally in reference to Americans. "I don't want my children to be influenced by immoral things."
The Namesake

“Alone together in a foreign land in the middle of winter, the shy, polite newlyweds are virtual strangers, and the movie captures their delicate process of mutual accommodation. Ashima’s initiation into American culture has gentle, humorous moments. She is astonished to discover gas stoves that work 24 hours a day and learns the hard way that wool sweaters should not be dumped into a washing machine” (Holden).

“In high school Gogol rebels from his family and behaves like a typical pot-smoking, rock-’n’-roll-loving American teenager. On a visit to Calcutta he sneers at Indian ways. After studying architecture at Yale, he falls in love with Maxine (Jacinda Barrett), a stereotypical blonde WASP princess from Long Island. Cultural tensions flare when he brings her home to meet his family, and the couple are expected to withhold any expressions of physical affection, according to Indian tradition” (Holden).

“Assimilation is a term referring to another part of the adaptation process initially proposed by Jean Piaget. Through assimilation, we take in new information or experiences and incorporate them into our existing ideas. The process is somewhat subjective, because we tend to modify experience or information somewhat to fit in with our preexisting beliefs” (Cherry).