English 2850 Spring 2024 Great Works of World Literature II

–Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis?  Explain your response.

–How is Gregor’s family transformed in the wake of his metamorphosis?

–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?

–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? What meaning does music hold for Gregor here?

–Ultimately, what do you think Gregor’s metamorphosis means?  What does it mean to be transformed into a giant bug?

–Explain your understanding of Gregor’s death.  How/why does he ultimately die?

Because so few of you came to class on Monday and we decided to disband to watch the eclipse, we need to adjust our schedule a bit.

On Wednesday, April 10th, we will spend the first portion of class on T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, so make sure you have the poem with you in class.

As scheduled, we will also be discussing Lu Xun’s “In the Wineshop” on Wednesday. This text is NOT in the anthology. You can find a link to it via the “Texts” tab at the top of the blog. Please have the story with you in class on Wednesday, either electronically or on a printout.

Thanks for being flexible. Reach out if you have any questions!

–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.

–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?

–Explain the significance of the story about reburying Weifu’s little brother?

–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?

–Describe an instance of filial piety in the story. What is its significance?

–What aspects of this short story seem to you to be particularly modernist?

• The poem opens, “Let us go then, you and I….” Whom do you think the speaker is addressing here?
• What is Prufrock’s relationship to time?  How can you tell?
• Look at the description of the yellow smoke in the second and third stanzas of the poem. What do you make of this description?
• “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons,” laments Prufrock. What do you think this line means?
• Describe the overall mood of the poem. What feelings does it leave you with?
• In the final lines of the poem, the speaker shifts from “I” to “We.” How do we explain this shift?

–How does justice work in the world of “Punishment”?  What happens when one tells the truth? What happens when one lies?

–What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?

–Explain the significance of the details Tagore offers about the marriage between Chandara and Chidam.  How do they help us understand the events of the story?

–How do you understand the title of the story?

–As she approaches death, Chandara both says, “to hell with him,” and maintains that she loves her husband.  How do you reconcile these two apparently contradictory statements?

If you did not receive a hard copy of your second formal writing assignment in class on Monday, April 1st, you can find the assignment above under the “Writing Assignments” tab. Please read the assignment carefully, and contact me if you have any questions.

Please submit your selected passage to me via email ([email protected]) no later than Friday, April 5th. All you have to do is provide me with the text and passage you’ve selected for your close reading.

This week, rather than posting a list of questions for you to reflect on, I’d like you to do the following:

Choose a line or passage from the”The Death of Ivan Ilyich” that seems to you to be particularly interesting and important and share it in a comment on this post.

Once you’ve shared your quotation (and identified the page on which it appears), please do the following:

• Provide the context for your quotation.  This means sharing where this passage fits into the larger narrative.  What’s happening when this line appears?
• Share its meaning.  What do you think this quotation means?
• Discuss its significance.  Why do you think this is an important quotation? How is it related to the larger themes of “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”?

Please post your responses no later than Sunday, March 31st.

Unbelievably, we have already arrived at the midpoint of our semester. This presents an opportunity to pause, to reflect on how the semester has been going, and to think about how you’d like to see the second half of the semester unfold. Please set aside some time between now and Monday, March 25th to complete our Mid Semester Reflection. Let me know if you have any questions.

1.  Explain the significance of the text’s subtitle, “a Story of Wall Street”.
2. Why do you think Bartleby refuses to perform his copying duties?
3. Whom do you sympathize with more in this narrative, Bartleby or the Narrator? Why?
4. How does power work in this story?  Who seems to have power? Why?
5. The text ends mysteriously, “Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!”  What do you think this means?

Hi Everyone,

Unfortunately, I am sick and need to cancel tomorrow’s class. (Rest assured – I am far more upset about this that you are!) I fully expect to be back on Wednesday. We will begin discussing “Bartleby, the Scrivener” on Wednesday and will continue with it next Monday. The presentation that was scheduled for tomorrow will happen on Wednesday instead.

Again, I am really sorry to be canceling!! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns!

See you on Wednesday!

Professor Sylvor