Category Archives: assignments

Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a bitter reminder for us that life is too short to be attached to materialistic things and how we are constantly chasing things that do not truly matter. Ivan was constantly worried about how he is representing himself to the society, he worked hard to attain things not to enjoy them but to show other people his achievements. He was too occupied showing everyone what he could accomplish that it never occurred to him how important building emotional and intimate connection with people around him really was and I feel like that is something that we commonly get to see around us on a daily basis now. Our motivational drive too often is not how having something would make our lives comfortable but what it would make others think of us. Tolstoy shows us that seeking everyone’s approval will lead you nowhere looking for happiness within yourself rather than materialistic things is what will make your life fulfilling. Life is so unpredictable considering the time we are going though right now during these times of uncertainty we should make sure we spend time with our family and friends rather than only focusing on our careers as our time in this world is not infinite. I felt sorry for Ivan when no one took his illness seriously because he was weak and that is when he required everyone’s support and care the most. Reading this novella made me shift my focus of how temporary and unpredictable our life really  is , we plan our lives and our future as if we are going to live forever rather than living in the present.

Leo Tolstoy “Death Of Ivan Ilyich” talks about the experiences with life and death. The life of Ivan had lived a good life. Ivan’s death was unexpected and it taught Ivan about his life and also him as a person. People are so into people’s business and not their own business and comparing themselves to other people. In the story it states that we shouldn’t live with the thoughts of people we should live within ourselves. You will never get the happiness and the truth of life. Ivan experiences the feeling of separation and sickness, life is full of purposes and a meaningful life. Leo Tolstoy shows how reality is very depressing and sad and it is very painful and also disturbing life and death be. Tolstoy is showing that it is not easy to find the true people and we are living in not good situations and could change us as people. The extent I am able to sympathize with Ivan’s suffering is he feels lonely and has no one to be around with and he feels depressed. The lessons Tolstoy’s work hold for us is people go through changes and their emotions changes as a person. This story “Death of Ivan Ilyich” made me realize that not to compare myself with other people and to focus on things that are important to me.

-Our reading and assignments this week are quite manageable, so this is a good week to catch up on any assignments you’ve missed.

-Read Rabindranath Tagore’s short story “Punishment” (in Volume E of your Norton 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.  Your post should be shared by Wednesday, April 21st

–Tagore’s Background and Context – In preparation for our conversation about “Punishment”, please either read the introduction to this work in the Norton Anthology or do your own Google-ing about Rabindranath Tagore  and, in a comment on this post, please share one piece of information that you think is important or interesting to help us contextualize his work.  Please read through any comments that precede yours.  You may not repeat something someone else has already posted!!!  Share your item before our Zoom class on Wednesday.

–Office Hours:  Sign up HERE

–Hypothes.is. Next week, you will have an assignment that will require you to use Hypothes.is.   If you haven’t yet been able to use this application successfully, please take time this week to figure it out.  Start by following the instructions under the “Technology” tab above and in the post where I first asked you to use it.  The easiest way to use Hypothes.is is to make it an extension on your Chrome browser.

• By now you should have completed your reading of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler.  Please respond to one of the questions I have posted in in “Hedda Gabler – Part II.”  Your responses are due by Sunday, April 11th.

• Our reading for this week is Leo Tolstoy’s novella, The Death of Ivan Ilyich (vol. E of your anthology).  Please complete the novella before our call on Wednesday.  I will expect you to demonstrate that you have done the reading.

• Write a blog post of 300-400 words, due by Friday, April 16th.  For this week’s writing assignment, I’d like you to reflect on what it’s like to read this work at this particular moment in time.  As you know, Tolstoy’s novella describes the experience of a man whose rather conventional life, focused primarily on work, socializing, and the acquisition of wealth, is suddenly disrupted by illness.  In your blog post,  please consider what it’s like to read and digest this work in the middle of our own unexpected and unrelenting period of disruption and unsettledness.  What did you take away from Ivan Iyich’s experience of illness and isolation?  To what extent are you able to sympathize with Ivan’s suffering?  What lessons does Tolstoy’s work hold for us?

• I will be holding my regular office hours on Monday.  You can sign up HERE.

Please respond to one of the following questions in the comments section below.  Your response should be 250-300 words in length and must include a quotation from the play in support of your response.  Please post your response by Sunday, April 11th.

1. What is the significance of Lovborg’s unfinished manuscript?  Why does Hedda burn it? What ramifications does that act have for Lovborg and the other characters in the play? 
2. Why does Hedda give Lovborg the pistol? What does she mean when she urges him, “Can you see to it that — that when you do it, you bathe it in beauty”? 
3. Is Hedda pregnant?  What difference does her possible pregnancy make in terms of our understanding of her character and her fate?       
4. Discuss the character of Judge Brack.  What function does he serve in the play?  What does Hedda mean when, in her final line of the play, she says, “Yes, that’s what you’re hoping for, isn’t it, Judge? You, the one and only cock of the walk –”?
5. Why do you think Hedda kills herself?  What evidence can you find in the text to support your response?
6. What is the significance of the play’s final line: “But God have mercy — People just don’t act that way!”?

When I read the text of “Hedda Gabbler” and then watched the film version I realized how characters were represented differently. The text gives many minor details of the setting by describing the furniture, the curtains, and the walls whereas the film version shows everything giving the audience a clear picture. I feel like one of the major differences is the representation of Hedda’s character, she is shown as a self-absorbed woman who looks down upon everyone and the film makes it easier to get an understanding of her nature by looking at her facial expressions, body language and gestures. Moreover, the text represents the relationship between Hedda and Aunt Julie, it is not great the film version of it makes it more transparent and sets a tone as to how Hedda does not care about anyone. Even though the text describes how George and Aunt Julie shared a genuine and loving relationship the film represents it to a greater extent by showing how she is willing to do anything for his happiness. While reading the text, the reader takes a while to imagine as to what is happening and how while the film version just gives a representation of relationships between characters which makes it easier and quicker to get an understanding of the events taking place.

The written and the film version of Hedda Gabbler are very different from each other. The TV series shows more scenes and it makes it feel very realistic. The book is just the written acts of the play and doesn’t show much when reading and it takes time to picture what is being read. The book doesn’t show as much as imagery that the TV series shows and it can be pictured very well. When reading the book, it takes a while to picture what is being read and in the TV series you can visualize the scene by watching it. The book and the TV series have  huge differences when it comes to representation and visualization. We might view the film as an interpretation of Ibsen’s original text is the tv series has more imagery representation than the book itself. It is hard to understand the text when reading because you can’t picture exactly what’s going on in the text. In the movie you can easily picture what is going on in the play by watching it.

I hope everyone is having a restful and restorative break and that you are ready to dive into the second half of our semester.  Here is the plan for next week.  Please reach out to me if you have any questions!

1. I have recorded an introduction to Literary Realism, the literary movement that dominates the second half of the 19th century.  This is the next period in literary history that we will be exploring.  You can access the video HERE, using the Password: 5M=ei3UA    In a comment on this post, please share one idea from the video that stuck with you.
2. Please take a look at the Frederick Douglass Group’s Presentation.  You can find it here on the blog.  Leave a comment for the group with any feedback you’d like to share.
3. Read Acts I and II of Hedda Gabler. Then, using the link below, watch the opening scene of the film version of the play, made for television in 1963, starring Ingrid Bergman.

   Watch until Thea Elvsted enters. In a blog entry of 250-350 words, compare the written and film versions of the opening of the play. How might we view the film as an interpretation of Ibsen’s original text? Where has the filmmaker made changes to Ibsen? To what effect? What do we notice when we watch the film that we may have missed upon first reading the play? Please share your post by Wednesday, April 7th.

4. Please try to finish Hedda Gabler before our Zoom call on Wednesday, April 7th.  (If you haven’t finished the play, our conversation will definitely include spoilers!). You will have a second Hedda Gabler related assignment that will arise out of Wednesday’s call.
5. Office Hours:  You can sign up HERE to meet with me during my regular Monday office hours.
6. Mid-Semester Reflection:  Before Spring Break, I asked you to complete a short questionnaire reflecting on how the first half of the semester has gone for you.  If you haven’t yet completed your form, please do it ASAP.  (It is REQUIRED!).   You can access the form HERE.

-Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglas and Incidents in the life of a slave Girl, both talk about slavery in their own manner. Even though Jacobs and Douglas had been physically and mentally abused severely Harriet Jacobs went through a different kind of trauma that is incomparable. Jacobs being a woman had to suffer physical abuse, her innocence being taken away from her soon enough she realized the harsh realities of the world at a very tender age. Douglas stood up to his master for freedom whereas Jacobs had to live inside a dark small hole for several years just to survive. Imagining her surviving conditions; not enough room to turn over, no light or even fresh air makes me wonder how motherhood can be so strengthening as the only reason that kept her in the hiding for so many years was the laugh of her child. I think Jacobs suffered more than Douglas in every possible way and was affected by the effects of it all her life.

– Despite being well hidden slavery still exists in this modern era of time, it is necessary to be acknowledged so that it can be put to an end. Human Trafficking is one of the major forms of slavery, not only women are being target for it as it does not only include sexual trafficking but also forced labor and many people are still being affected by it. It never occurred to me how our day-to-day life choices are making us a victim of trafficking, being bribed with money forced to accept job offers. Debt is a new form of slavery; many people are put in situations where they are burdened under it and spend their entire lives trying to pay it off yet often fail to do so a great example of this could be student loans. Child slavery is yet a big issue, presently more than quarter of the slaves from the world population are children. Poorer and overly populated countries have the most child labors as families do not have enough mean to earn, another reason is the money saving idea people hire children and pay them less than an adult worker would take for the same amount of work.

I originally thought that if a slave owner lost their slave they would not be so cruel to look for them over the states and won’t let them go over several years. Such was the ego and cruelty of slave owners that even after escaping, one would have to look over their should all the time and keep running away to the end of time. For what I thought was that eventually slave owners would let the escaped ones go and consider them gone but no, they would keep looking for them as to teach them a lesson or to sell them away, they would not accept loss.