Author Archives: JSylvor

Here is the link to access the recording of the Zoom call for Wednesday, April 29th.  We discussed Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis.”

https://baruch.zoom.us/rec/share/_p0sAa768kJJAaPNxE77CvcjQovvT6a82icaqPIIxUm3Lx1kO6dfBkwEKblj_eoO

Password: 4A.vY?cl

Use the link and password below to access the recording of Monday’s call.  We discussed the final essay and began our discussion of Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis.”

https://baruch.zoom.us/rec/share/z9xwLZX61VxLf5HStln5AK4RBYX0T6a80CkY-qBZzUY-KbcdyTKowPGh-0xiebjl Password: 3W?lUet9

Please respond to any two of the following questions, being sure to ground your response in concrete details or quotations from the text.  Your responses should be posted to the blog before our Zoom call on Wednesday at 3pm:

1. Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis?  Explain your response.
2. How is Gregor’s family transformed in the wake of his metamorphosis?
3. Discuss the theme of food and eating. What role does it play in “The Metamorphosis”?
4. At the end of the second section of the story, Gregor’s father pelts him with apples.  What do you think this episode is about?
5. Gregor emerges from his room one last time when he hears his sister playing her violin for the lodgers.  What is the significance of this scene? What meaning does music hold for Gregor here?
6. Ultimately, what do you think Gregor’s metamorphosis means?  What does it mean to be transformed into a giant bug?
7. Explain your understanding of Gregor’s death.  How/why does he ultimately die?
8. Look at the final paragraph of the story. How does it shape or alter our understanding of the text?

Hi Friends,

Just alerting you to the fact that I have posted the assignment for your final essay to the blog.  You can find it under the “Essays” tab at the top of the page.  Please note that, for this essay, you will coming up with your own topics using my guidelines.  We will be discussing this assignment during our call tomorrow, so please read the prompt through carefully, so that you can ask questions tomorrow.

Have a nice day!

Professor Sylvor

Here is the link to the recording of Monday’s Zoom call.  We discussed T. S. Eliot and the literary and cultural context of the early twentieth century.

https://baruch.zoom.us/rec/share/wNJYdbv5yVFIepHWxRCDd6kAR9W9eaa80HMe-qcIy0iYmCKSljLee9ya7h7dmL0i Password: 5A!+$g9%

Please respond to any two of the following questions.  Please be sure to use complete sentences in composing your response and include evidence from the text to illustrate your ideas.

1. The story’s narrator is revisiting a place he once lived.  Explain the significance that this “revisiting” has in relation to the themes of the story.
2. What is the connection between our narrator and Weifu?  Why do you think so much of the story is spent on Weifu’s life, while the narrator shares very little about his own life experiences?
3. Explain the significance of the story about reburying Weifu’s little brother?
4. Weifu recalls when he and the narrator used to pull the beards off religious statues in the Temple when they were younger.  What is the significance of this memory?
5. Describe an instance of filial piety in the story.  What is its significance?
6. What aspects of this short story seem to you to be particularly modernist?

Hi Everyone,

Here is the link to the Zoom call from April 15th.  We discussed Tagore’s “Punishment.”

https://baruch.zoom.us/rec/share/1OxQHbX2q0lIcp3t1UTgRelmIt27eaa80yMb__dcn0mX7FsZi9ZhchvTWwhwJnFL (Access Password: j2#1u#or)

Welcome to the Twentieth Century!  As we enter “the modern era,” please complete the following two tasks by Wednesday, April 22nd.

1.  Read “Modernity and Modernism, 1900 -1945” in Volume F of your Norton Anthology (pp. 3 -13).  This will give you important context for making sense of the first half of the century.  Be sure you understand the difference between “modernity” (a time period) and “modernism” (an aesthetic movement)!

2.  Choose a moment in T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” that seems to you to be crying out for explication and analysis.  This could be a passage that you find really challenging, or it could be a passage that you feel you already have some insight into.  I would recommend choosing a passage of 2-4 lines.  Offer a detailed analysis of your passage, including the following:

-copy the lines you are analyzing, and be sure to identify their line numbers.

-explain the literal meaning of the passage.

-what made you choose this passage?

-what words, terms, or names did you need to look up? What do they mean?

-what symbolism, imagery, or other poetic devices is Eliot employing in these lines?

-how do these lines connect to the central concerns of the poem as a whole?

-what do you still not understand about your passage?

-what resources (if any) did you consult in order to complete this assignment?  Remember that any time you offer an idea that you found in another source, whether you quote from that source or not, you must include a parenthetical citation identifying your source.  Failure to do so is plagiarism, a serious academic offense.  Consult me if you have questions about this!

Read Rabindranath Tagore, “Punishment” (volume E or anthology).   Think about how you might establish a connection between Tagore’s story and another work we’ve read this semester.  You may see a stylistic issue that joins the two texts, a character who faces similar issues, or textual elements that differ from each other in important ways;  the type of connection you identify is entirely up to you!   In a blog post of 300-400 words, explore the connection(s) you see between the two texts. Please be sure to include quotations from both texts in your response.

Hi Friends,

Here is the recording of yesterday’s Zoom call.  It might be helpful for those of you who missed it to hear our discussion of Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich).  Please note that you need to use the password to access the recording.

Share recording with viewers:
https://baruch.zoom.us/rec/share/vsFNKOvd9VpOUIXD4WHRfIIGHYXvT6a8gXQa-PAPxBuxRA-h9drYxi5nEHhuPCJF (Access Password: n4#155@1)

Take care, and I will “see” you tomorrow (wed) at 3pm for a conversation about Rabindranath Tagore’s “Punishment.”

Be well,

Professor Sylvor