Blog #6:

Question 1:

In the story by Edgar Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the repression the narrator felt towards the old man that eventually leads him to admitting his guilt to the officers because he wanted free himself of the old man’s heart that he heard beating even after he killed him and the dismembered the body. The events that led up to undeniable guilt were very carefully laid out. It took him seven nights to reach the point to enter the old man’s room without disturbing him. He stated, “I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture – a pale blue eye, with film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees – very gradually – I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye for ever.” This part makes it very clear that the intentions to kill the old man were not of the actions by the old man but of his “vulture-like pale blue eye.” The steps that were so cautiously laid out by him and told in this story, were to prove to the reader (or maybe himself) that he was not a “madman,” it was the “eye” of the old man that caused him to kill him.
After he had carefully planned for seven nights at exactly midnight, the eighth day is when he executed his plan to finally get rid of the “pale-blue eye”. He did the same thing that he had done the previous seven nights: first he made it so that he was “never so kinder to the old man” during the seven days (my guess is that the old man would not suspect anything-especially while he slept), next, he ever so cautiously entered the old man’s room (like he had done before) by turning the latch on his door and opening it, after he had opened the door enough for his head (which took him an hour), he then put in a dark lantern and then stayed in his room until a ray of sunshine casted on the “eye.” On this eighth night, he stated that he had never felt his sagacity more and that he had never been so ready to end the life of the old man. On the eighth night while in the old man’s room, his the thumb slipped on the tin fastening of the lantern and caused the old man to wake; but, he did not move a single muscle and stayed in his room for another hour without the old man knowing he was there. He did not hear the old man lay back down, instead he knew that he was watching and listening in the dark of his room (just as he did the past seven nights) “hearkening to the death watches in the wall.” After he could not wait any longer, he opened up the lantern just enough for the “eye” to be visible; which caused him to become furious. After he goes into detail about how he can feel the eye in the “very marrow of in my bones”, he explains to the reader that, “what you mistake for madness is but overacuteness of the senses?” In my opinion, he is stating that he is mad. He makes a paradoxical statement a few times in which I still do not understand what it means, “I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.” I do not understand the relevance to this statement, other than giving the reader an image of what he can hear.
After he became furious after seeing the “eye,” his blood and heart began to pound in his body and as the pounding became increasingly louder, he then killed the old man; he looked backed on the him with a “gaily smile.” To be sure that he was dead, he placed his hand on the old man’s chest to see if his heart was still beating – it was not. He then dismembered the member, cutting off the head, the arms, and then his legs. It was now 4 o’clock, with the dismembered body carefully lying under the planks in the old man’s bedroom. He was quite proud of his ability of making certain that there was no traceable amount of blood or anything out of place to suggest of what he had just done.
But it was his guilt that ultimately led to his admission. When the officers came to his house after being told by a neighbor that they heard a shriek, he “bade the gentlemen welcome.” He went as far as setting up seating in the old man’s room and he, himself, sat on top of the very spot he had laid the dismembered body. He kept hearing a noise while speaking to the officers, and as it became increasingly louder, so did his worry that maybe the old man was not dead and that he was hearing his heart beat louder and louder. Finally he could not stand it any longer and with the last line of the story he yells, “Villains, dissemble no more! I admit the deed! – tear up the planks! – here, here! – it is the beating of his hideous heart!”

Question 4:

Critical Article “The Tell-Tale Heart”:
After reading this article, I must say that I took a completely different approach to the interpretation of this story. Looking back on his life and all the hardships he endured, I understood this story as to be about the significant relationship between his wife’s father and himself. Poe’s father-in-law did not approve of the marriage, much less of Poe as a person. Their battle continued even after the death of Poe’s wife; which she had played a major role in a lot of Poe’s literature. The way I interpreted the story was that the old man was in reference to the father-in-law and the “eye” that made the narrator’s blood run cold was the relationship they had. Poe loved his wife and therefore he loved her father; however, because he did not like Poe (obviously this made Poe furious), he used a metaphor of the “eye” in place for how this made Poe feel: I believe that this made Poe feel like a failure to his wife because he was so hated by her parents.
I completely disagree with the sexual content of the story as the lecture suggested. For example: “Although Poe remains covert in any presentation of sexual analogy, “the narrator begins [the tale] with language of penetration” (Dayan 225). He speaks of the murder as a “conceived” idea that “entered” his brain (Poe 303). This sexually charged language continues as the narrator describes the ritual that preceded the murders: “And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head [ ] I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in!” (303). In addition to the language, the setting of the ritual and murder, a bedroom, only furthers the notion that this is a psychosexual tale. Finally, the narrator confesses, “I loved the old man” (303). Interestingly, a dichotomy is created between the narrator’s love for and his desire to kill the old man.”
This entry suggests that the relationship between the old man and the narrator were somewhat sexually involved. I strongly disagree because of the lack of evidence that disproves that the narrator (which in most of his literature, he is the narrator), is indeed a homosexual. I honestly believe that Poe had some sort of mental defect but he was in the right to feel such distaste towards his wife’s father. I believe that it was an obsession that he had towards wanting to inflict pain, but in a sadomasochism way. This notion that this story is “sexually charged” is a farfetched idea.
I do not agree with the fact that this man was in any way bipolar. “Indeed, the narrator exists as a bipolar being, divided by his love for and desire to kill the same man” In the mind of the narrator, he exhibits the difference between the old man and the “eye,” which in his has a completely different set a feelings for each. Bipolar is a disease that cannot be controlled; whereas in this story the narrator shows complete control during the seven days and even in the eighth when he kills the old man. The fact that he shows remorse/guilt at the end and gives himself up, shows that the love he had for old man still existed as well as he is still a “human” who can feel such remorse/guilt.
“As the criminal sits and answers the officers’ question “cheerily,” pleasure fades, and he begins to talk “more freely to get rid of the feeling” (306). He becomes convinced that officers who “chatted pleasantly, and smiled” (306) were “making a mocker of [his] horror” (306). Fittingly, he views the officers as sadists taking pleasure in his pain,” again I disagree with this thought. I do not believe that the notion the narrator feels is pleasure, I believe that is a release of stress and hatred that he had for the “eye” of the old man. As well as when the officers are “making a mockery of him,” and know what he has done, I believe this to be a human emotion that he is expressing –guilt. Consequently, I do not believe the narrator to be a masochist much less a sadomasochist. I did not analyze this story to have any such sexual content; in fact I believe this to be a story of Poe writing a scenario of what he would have liked to have done with his wife’s parents’ feelings toward him.

Blog 6, Due May 2

Blog Topics, Week of April 26

Question 1: Using the concept of repression and the “return of the repressed”, explain the events in “The Tell-Tale Heart” (you should be talking about the narrator’s choices and actions)

Question 2: Do a bit of research on Edgar Allen Poe and explain how his personal life may have influenced his choice of narrator and events in “The Tell-Tale Heart” OR “The Cask of Amontillado”. Remember that you are looking at the author’s subconscious motives and desires, ones that have been “repressed” by the author but are unleashed in the literary text. If you choose this question, you need to cite your source. Magill Literature Online and/or The Literature Resource Center, electronic databases (available via in link on our library site) are really good choices for this as the information is guaranteed credible.

Question 3: Interpret this course of action in “Amontillado} using both Freud’s model of the psyche (id/ego/superego) AND various methods of repression and “the return of the repressed”. You should analyze at least three of these moments. Note that the excerpts are listed in order of their occurrence; make sure you trace the psychological process in order (as in, “first he did this, and this means a, and then he does that, and that means b, etc.).

“The noise lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceased my labors and sat down upon the bones” (1204).

“I again paused, and holding the flamebeaux over the masonwork, threw a few feeble rays upon the figure within” (1204).

“For a brief moment I hesitated – I trembled” (1204).

“My heart grew sick – on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make an end to my labor” (1205)

Question 4: Choose one of the articles on Poe and his work that are posted in “Lectures” and respond accordingly: briefly summarize the article (use at least a few quotes in your answer), then explain whether the information you discover in your reading conforms to your interpretation of one of the stories or conflicts with it. You might also use one of these articles in any of the answers if you wish.

Blog #5

1) In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka pg. 979

Pick this story! It goes hand in hand with Postcolonial Theory!
I chose this because the pre-summary of this story is horrific. A man is "sentenced to be tortured to death by a grotesque machine!" What is great about this story is that it fulfills Postcolonial Theory, what we will be covering in a few weeks. It goes over the brutality of imperialism, colonialism, and the legal system.

2) Guests of the Nation by Frank O' Connor
3) Another Way To Die by Haruki Murakami

Both of these stories are great readings for our psychological criticism period. I would prefer to read Murakami's story. What makes both of these great is that each author deals with internal issues. They are both assigned duties but they must decide to carry out their duties or assist in the destruction of people. Sounds exciting doesn't it? If that's not psychological I don't know what is. This assists Freudian theory that we store "suppressed and unresolved issues" in our head,(pg.144 Literary Criticism).

4) First They Came For The Jews by Martin Niemoller

Great poem! Falls into psychological criticism! I picked this because I can relate with the reader and I am sure many others can. He does not speak out when he should. He does not defend disappearing Jews. He has suppressed fears, and then his greatest fear arrives in the end-I can't tell you what it is-you'll have to read it to find out! Hee Hee. :-D pg. 1011-1012

5) Babii Yar by Yevgeny Yevtushenko

This poem is amazing! It may fulfill psychological criticism, but you will have to read it and let me know. He is not a Jew, but a Russian. He is a Russian pretending he is a Jew, imagining the horrors of a massacre. I chose this poem because I have never seen anyone write a poem with the structure the author did. The imagery is amazing "blood runs, spilling over the floors..."

Blog #5

My Selections:

1) "Girl"- By Jamaica Kincaid

2) "A Raisin In the Sun"- By Lorraine Hansberry

3) "Inspired Eccentricity"- By Bell Hooks

4) "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening"- By Robert Frost

5) "The Road Not Taken"- By Robert Frost

I chose these because they all seemed interesting. The first three short stories all seem cultural, and "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid describes gender differences as well, giving instructions on how a girl is supposed to behave and what duties that she must fulfill as a woman. Robert Frost is a famous poet, even though I am not familiar with his work, when I read his poems from the text I noticed how he used detailed imagery in his descriptions and how the tone of both of the poems seems like he is a lonely traveler.

Blog five

The first text i chose was a poem, "To help the monkey cross the river" by Thomas Lux. I chose this poem because it makes you think, is he really helping the monkey? Should he just let nature take its course? This poem also is filled with irony, a hunter that is helping a monkey escape a croc and an anaconda, yet he's hunting the anaconda and croc.
The second text I chose was another poem, "Dear John Wayne" by Luoise Erdrich, because it is about someone being stereotyped, and everyone can relate to that.
Next I chose a short story, "Human Evolution" by Octavia Butler, because lately in entertainment, such as movies, there has been a lot of human evolution and I thought it would be a fun short story to read.
The next text I chose was a play. The play "Antigone" by Sophocles is a great story about conflict and justice. I read this play a few years back and it is one of my favorites. Although it is very long it still is entertaining.
Lastly I chose "Killings" written by Andre Dubus. I chose this short story because is seemed an exciting and suspenseful story. It does not seem like a typical story you read for an English class, which can make it that much more exciting.

Blog 5

1) The play night, mother by Marcia Norman is about two characters Jessie Cates, and mother Thelma. Jessie announces she wants to kill herself at the end of the evening. This sets off a struggle between mother and daughter. Thelma uses every strategy to stop her. She tells the truth about her issues that had affected her life. One central facet about the nature of what creates drama in a story. This brings out a lot of different emotions, and is a good play to analyze. This is why i feel it would be a good addition to our schedule.

2) The short story, The Swimmer, by John Cheever is very interesting. I read the first few lines, and decided I wanted to read further. "The Swimmer," is a masterpiece of mystery, language and sorrow. It has great imagery throughout the story. Neddy Merrill's is a swimmer who losing heart, growing weary,and getting old. The story has mythic echoes the passage of a divine swimmer across the calender toward his doom, and yet it always only the story of one bewildered man, approaching the end of his life, journeying homeward, in a pair of bathing trunks, across the countryside where he lost everything that ever meant something to him. I would love to see different perspectives, about how other people perceive this short story.

3)The poem "Do not Go Gentle into that Good Night," by Dylan Thomas is a widely known poem. This poem is even showcased in a movie called "Dangerous Minds," which originally made me want to read it, and pick apart the pieces to gain meaning. I think its a very encouraging poem. It about death and dying, but when examined closer it becomes apparent that it is also about life, and how it is lived. I think many people will appreciate this poem, and be able to connect with it. This would be a good poem to the schedule.

4)In the short story Penal Colony by, Franz Kafka was very interesting to read especially because my major is Criminal Justice. Its different to read stories like this especially because they are kind of strange. It makes you think deeper, and wonder things like why people commit crimes that are so horrifying. It brings up a lot of questions to the readers reading the story. I think this would be a good short story to see how other people react to this reading. Its would be interesting to be in someone Else's mind to see what goes on, to make them do the things they do.

5)The poem Those winter Sundays, by Robert Hayden was a great poem to read. Its about a hard working father, who provides all the necessities for his kid. The kid didn't appreciate his father, and realizes he should of thanked him for everything. I'm sure a lot of thoughts, and thinking would come about while other people read this. This is a good poem because it makes you realize not to take advantage of the people that mean the most to you. Some kinds get everything from their parents, and are unappreciative and spoiled.

Blog Week 11

The first poem I would choose would be "To Help the Monkey Cross the River" as it details ideas of juxtaposition and irony. It also seems to have a certain perspective on how hurting someone or something can in turn help them. Sort of the mentality that applies would be what doesn't necessarily kills you only makes you stronger. This first poem has details, in a comedic way I think, of how help comes in unexpected ways at times. I would also choose "Today Was a Bad Day Like TB" because it focuses on discrimination. It is always interesting to read peoples' perspectives on a controversial social issue, and the importance of making sure people are always fully aware of these issues instead of ignoring or being indifferent to them. Whatever one's opinion is, it helps to bring out the practice of literary theory as well. My third pick would be "Harlem" which mainly caught my eye because my son will be attending graduate school close to Harlem in the coming fall, but more importantly, it is written by a great writer, Langston Hughes. It would be nice to read one of his most anthologized poems. The fourth text I would choose is Andre Dubus's "Killings" because it depicts the story, in some facet, of his life when he left his car to aid stranded motorists and then was eventually struck by another car and eventually lost most of one leg and strength over the other. It seems to be a worthy read. My final choice will have to be Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" mainly because Edgar Allan Poe has written very eerie, eccentric, sometimes frightening stories that can grab a reader's attention. Considering that "The Tell-Tale Heart" is so very well known, I am interested to read his other works, and this is one that I have never come across.

Blog 5

1.) While extremely morbid, The Penal Colony by Kafka. In the day and age of CSI many people want to know what is going through murderers heads, especially Nazi murderers that think nothing of thier torture devices.

2.) Let America be America Again by Langston Hughes. Hughes wrote this poem 70 years ago during a great upheval in the way people looked at life. 70 years later we as Americans are facing another social upheval. It would behoove us to remember what those before us were thinking during turbulent times.

3.) A Dream Deffered a.k.a. Harlem by Hughes. Talk about one of the most influential poems in American history! The imagery and metaphors used in this poem go far beyond surface level.

4.) I promise I'm not trying to be morbid here but The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe. I read it in high school ten years ago, but that was before I learned to read a piece in various ways. It would be interesting to write a critisism it from a Marxist or phsycological point of view.

5.) Man almost all of these are negative, they must be written by writers haha. Thinking Ahead to Possible Options and a Worst-Case Scenario, mainly because it is short. Short gives us the student a little break from the litany of reading and it also makes us focus all the more intently on what we're reading.
5.)

Blog 5

Going through Reading What Matters the five texts I selected are listed below. I tried to choose poems, short stories and a play.

1. Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost- I really enjoy reading all of Robert Frost's poetry. I think this poem would provide several different discussion topics. There are so many key things that you can look at within this poem for example imagery, themes and meaning.

2. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson- This would be a good addition to the schedule as a short story because it incorporates a lot of symbolism and it shows a lot of literary components to address its theme. It is a very ironic story that shows the ignorance of that era in America (1940's).

3. When I married, I became an old woman by J. Robert Lennon- I think this short story would be a fantastic piece to add to the schedule when we start using psychological criticism. In this story a husband and wife switch roles. The story really challenges gender stereotypes.

4. 'night, Mother by Marsha Norman- Is a play that centers around a mother and daughter. The daughter informs the mother that she is going to commit suicide. In terms of theory this would be another good addition for when we start using Psychological Criticism.

5. Traveling through the Dark by Loren Goodman- I think this poem would be a good addition to the schedule. There are multiple ways of perceiving the poem. A possible theme for this poem which could lead to an interesting discussion would be man versus nature.

Blog Five

1. Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” (288) I used this story for one of my papers and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It displays the transformation of a young girl struggling to grow up with a disapproving mother, to how it changed her as an adult.
2. Yvonne V. Sapia’s “Grandmother, a Caribbean Indian, Described by My Father” (415) This poem intrigued me because it is written as if her father was writing it. I thought that was very interesting to write from the point of view of another person and not necessarily her own point of view.
3. William Trevor’s “The Room” (694) This story was weird to me, but I liked it. There is a struggle within the main character, and she is torn between her marriage and her affair. The ending can be interpreted in different ways and leaves you wondering. There is a lot of symbolism in this story and it is thought-provoking.
4. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” (837) I first read this story in English 101 two years ago and I thought it was brilliant. There are so many ways this story can be analyzed and interpreted. It has a certain darkness to it and I remember it provoking emotions as I read it… How can the townspeople still continue such a malicious tradition?! I think it would be great to see this story in a future blog topic.
5. Gabriel Spera’s “My Ex-Husband” (1171) This poem caught my attention because it was written by a man, but the speaker is a woman. She is describing her ex-husband and alluding to the reasons they divorced. I think it’s interesting because I never would have imagined a man writing “for” a woman, especially in the context of divorcing an awful husband.

Blog 5:

The first reading I would choose is a story by Earnest Hemingway titled "Hills Like White Elephants." The reason I chose this one is based on simply that there is so much unsaid about what is really going on between the girl and the man. I would really love to read how others interpret the story's premise, and to find out what exactly is the relationship between the girl and the man, where are they heading to, why do they keep discussing the "perfect simple thing" that is mentioned over and over again, why does she say that she doesn't care about herself but will do anything for him, and what is the significance of the hill looking like white elephants? There are so many unanswered questioned and finding out how others interpret the story versus what is actually meant by the author would be intriguing to read.
The second reading I would choose is a poem by Michael S. Harper titled "Discovery." After reading this poem I had a mental image of the couple laying in bed and I wondered why she pretended to be asleep and then watch him sleep? I also wondered why he actually touched the light bulb or did he? Was there some sort of paradox to the last line? This poem is creates a vivid mental image but then so many questions arise about the situation as well and would like to read what some of classmates thought of this poem as well.
The third reading I would choose is a poem by Robert Hayden titled "Those Winter Sundays." The reason I chose this reading is because the poem is complex. I had to read it quite a few times before I came up with a meaning behind it and what I believe it means. It is a poem whose complexity brings out a story of a life of a hardworking father show has a son that is ungrateful at first but then realizes that his father has done right by him. I think many of us can relate to this story and it would be intriguing to read others' response to this one as well.
The fourth story I would recommend is another poem by Theodore Roethke titled "My Papa's Waltz." This poem has such a profound and indefinite meaning to it that my mouth was in awe of the horrible acts this boy had to face from a person who is supposed to show him love and kindness. It is so well written that I felt the pain he went through by the way the author used his words and any poem that has that type of affect on an individual should be further revised.
The final reading I recommend for our class is a story by Inga Clendinnen titled "Assessing Witness Testimony: Filip Muller." In my opinion one could never learn enough about our past and the history of other cutlures. I believe that with this story we can all learn more about Auschwitz by reading this story that tells about a personal experience of being in the camp. There was a recent article about a man who was honored by saving a few of the Jewish prisoners by replacing them with himself. The heroism that this man showed gave me back some hope that there is more good hearted individuals to replace those who have no shame in hurting people in the manner that has been described in this story. After reading this story, I was astounded by the hardships and the dishearten acts that humans can place on one another for a reason as small as believing in another religion or having different colored body parts. I believe that this story cannot go unturned!

Blog 5

My first of the five is The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. I read this when I was in High School and the name itself leads you to believe what the outcome will be. But as your read, The Lottery is one of the scariest events in the small village that the story takes place. This would have been a perfect short story to use for a New Criticism analysis. This short story has a lot of questioning morals and ideas that occur in this tiny town, enough to get a good discussion going on. For my class in High School we talked about the short story for three days and how preposterous the whole idea was.

My second would be In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka. I’ve always been interested in WW2, not because of the torture of the Jews but, because I don’t want it to be erased from History. So many people have tried to say the extermination of the Jews never happened, but it did. So, I want to read more and more about that time period and know the facts and read the stories wrote by the people who lived through it or witnessed it. My being a writer, I find that when writing stories, I tell a lot about how I feel and what’s going on in my head. So, I figure, if we read a story written by someone who’s endured the prejudice of that time, we can get a feel for what it was like. I think it would be a great read, learning from four different character’s roles in this story about this machine that took part in the extermination.

My third would be He Would Never Hurt a Fly by Slavenka Drakulić. I skimmed through this story and thought this would be interesting to discuss. It’s kind of controversial in a sense. This man had become this sort of executioner from what I’ve read and enjoys killing yet to his friends, he’s nice and calm and loves fishing. It almost seems like this guy is shifting personalities from what I’ve read. I’d really like to read more and find out what exactly was going on here.

My fourth would be What Work Is by Philip Levine. This poem talks about work and what work is to someone. They talk about how their brother sleeps in all the time working a late shift at Cadillac, and waking up to study German and other activities this brother is doing, where as the Narrator is standing, waiting for work, real work—heavy, hard labor. This kind of reminds me of the Hispanic men you with the hauling trucks or like in Fun with Dick and Jane, the men standing in the alleyway, waiting for someone to come by and ask them to do work and the struggle they go through fighting with each other to get the job. It would be interesting to look at this poem.

My fifth would be Punishment by Seamus Heaney. This seemed interesting. It leaves the question, who murdered this girl? Was the Narrator or was it someone else? Does Narrator know who did, do they know who this girl is? It kind of makes you wonder. You want to assume that the Narrator did it, but it could be the write who’s trying to trick you into thinking that way. Interesting poem, would like to look at it deeper.

blog 5

A) While going through Making Literature Matter this semester, looking for poems and short stories to write about for our papers, I came across some good pieces that could be a good addition to the schedule.

The first piece I would recommend would a play written by William Shakespere called Othello. Othello is a well written play that I think can be a good piece to use psychological criticism. The characters are deep and I think could be studied in depth by our course. Because Shakespeare's personal life was not well known I think that a class can interpret the characters without bias because we don't know the author's personality in depth. Also, Shakespeare is one of the most well known authors of his time, and I think it would be great to get into something written by the best!

The second piece I would recommend would be a play written by Pat Mora called Legal Alien. Although this poem doesn't correlate with what we are learning in the future, I believe that it would be a good poem to address. Legal Alien is about the struggles that a Mexican-American has to deal with everyday. Not being accepted by either race. I think this would be very influential seeing that the Mexican-American population in southern California is high, and it addresses a real problem that is a reality every day.

The third piece I picked for this assignment is a short story written by Charles Perrault called Little Red Riding Hood. We have all heard this fairy tale as kids, and I think it would be fun to get into as adults. There are lessons that she learns and the different paths she takes in the story that I think would be great to be able to analyze.

The fourth piece I picked is a punishment poem written by Carolyn Forche called The Colonel. This would be a great piece to use psychological criticism on because "the colonel" in the poem is a very deep dark character. In the poem he gives off a mean personification and slings out negative innuendos that I think would be fun to analyze.

The last piece I chose is a popular story that was written by Bobbie Ann Mason called Shiloh. Shiloh is an amazing story that won America's hearts when it was made into a movie. The characters in the story are very well written, and Mason gives the story a great meaning. Everyone who saw the movie liked the story line and plot. As a student I think this would be an awesome story to go over, I think that it would get the whole class involved because of how well written it is!

Blog 5, Due 04/18

Hi all,

As I am obviously behind with Blog 5, we are going to do something different with it. The method to my madness has a two-fold purpose. First, since this is posted late, I do not want you to revisit texts you may have read some time ago. Second, I think you might have some interest in choosing some of the texts we're going to be reading for the second half of the semester.

As such, Blog 5 is this: Go through Reading What Matters and choose five texts (short stories, poems, or plays) and explain why you think these would be good additions to the schedule. You might think about them in terms of the theories we are using and will be using soon: psychological criticism and postcolonial theory.

I am excited to see what you come up with!