Towards Perfection

Magical realism is the grown-up version of fairy tales. Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" creates worlds that parallel the human universe, but in those worlds lurk oddities of the human experience that become magnified. The abnormal becomes the typical, and her characters accept that. In that acceptance lies the need for questioning: what is truth? what is reality? what is fiction? what is right? what is moral? what is humanity? The answers to these questions are not easy. "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" posits difficult situations that completely skew largely accepted rules of society. The fictional society comments on true-life societies. Subtle changes in tone and dark secrets lurking in cellars,  Omelas is an entire world to explore. Utopia is not utopia; things are not as they seem; what is happiness worth? All these ideas appear in this tale, and they scream out about the human condition. 

To figure out if it is a true fairy tale, Lillian Smith’s “The Art of the Fairy Tale” could be helpful. Here’s how to find it: Smith, Lillian H. "The Art of the Fairy Tale." The Unreluctant Years: A Critical Approach to Children's Literature. Chicago, Ill.: American Library Association, 1953. 45-63. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 106. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resource Center. Web. 31 Dec. 2012.

DO NOW:

Please click on Comments to give your ideas on this story.  What is the price of happiness?  Should it cost another person’s life?  Think about the greatest balance of happiness (John Stuart Mill’s Theory of Utility).  Also, think about the tone of this story; it may not be as simple as it seems.  Compare this story to a movie, book, television show, or song.  Sign your comments with your first name and last initial.

Cisneros: A Cultural Experience

Genres in literature often blur and blend together. Sandra Cisneros's "The House On Mango Street" is a work of fiction; however, the story seems as if it could be autobiographical. The author uses her ethnic background to enhance the reality of her tale.  “Autoethnography” is a literary genre that could very well suit this work, which is part of a larger collection of stories.  Breaking down the term will reveal its meaning.  Breaking down the story will reveal how it fits into this particular genre.

Cisneros uses her poetic skills in her stories of Mango Street and plays with narration style to convey not only a cultural experience, but also a universal human experience.  Gender, class, and ethnicity arise as points of speculation and social commentary in this very short work.  Age is also a key factor.

DO NOW:

Please click on Comments to offer your ideas on this story.  Give your own definition of what “autoethnography” means; don’t look it up, but instead figure it out on your own and state how it applies here.  If you've read other parts of this tale before, feel free to incorporate those ideas or any other connections you can make. Sign your comments with your first name and last initial.

A Girl Thing?

No two mother-daughter relationships are the same.  The dynamic between the two women changes as the girl grows up and the mother grows older. Jamaica Kincaid's story, "Girl," is unique in its tone and narration as it introduces one of these relationships. The girl in the title may refer to a girl in the story, or it may also be a general label, commenting on the universal idea of being a girl. Two female voices appear in the short passage, but they may not come from two people. Confusing at times, this piece of literature comments on culture, society, and gender. 

The relationship emerges in this piece not from a traditional idea of “story” but from a framework of sentence structure, punctuation, and cadence.  Diane Simmons believes that “Girl” is “a kind of primer in the manipulative art of rhythm and repetition” (Simmons). These rhetorical devices push the narrative forward.  By the end, character traits are clear as is the dynamic of this particular relationship.

Simmons, Diane. "The Rhythm of Reality in the Works of Jamaica Kincaid." World Literature Today 68.3 (Summer 1994): 466-472. Rpt. in Literature of Developing Nations for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Literature of Developing Nations. Ed. Elizabeth Bellalouna, Michael L. LaBlanc, and Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 31 Dec. 2012.

DO NOW:

Please click on Comments and give your ideas on this story’s theme and possible social commentary. Discuss the narration style, and make connections to pop culture. Sign your comments with your first name and last initial.

The Appointment In Samarra: A Freaky Tale

 












Aesop's Fables are the more popular didactic stories in the American course of literature (didactic means "teacher-like"--this definition is a freebie, so have a dictionary on hand for future words). Those stories personify animals to teach lessons to humans. They are part of an older tradition of oral storytelling that many cultures used to teach their youth and remind their elders of how to live a good life. Somerset Maugham's tale is not a fable as it does not use animals, but it still tells a tale to teach a lesson. Maugham's version of "The Appointment In Samarra" is very eerie. The first point of eerie tone is the opening, "Death speaks" (45). Death as a speaking, breathing, moving entity is scary.

Though short, this story has enough insight into the facts of life that cause chills. When Death tells the merchant that she had planned to meet the servant later on in a place the servant is running to, Maugham offers his moral. Perhaps more than one moral exists.

Maugham, W. Somerset. "The Appointment In Samarra." Literature: An Introduction. 5th Ed. Ed. X. J. Kennedy. NY: Longman, 2008. 45. Print.

DO NOW:

Please click on Comments to categorize this story.  Is it a fable, an allegory, or a parable?  (One paragraph is good; more than one is better).  You may also refer to any outside sources you may have come across.  Remember, cite properly and sign your comments with your first name and last initial.

Welcome Wagon

Hello, literature lovers / composers. Yes, if you are in ENG 102, you are (or eventually will be) a lover of literature as well as a composer of writings about literature. If you don't love literature and writing yet, you will by the end of the semester. Even if by the end of the semester you still do not love it, and maybe you won't even like it, simply pretend that you do. Humor me.

The writing here is a little less formal than the papers and paragraphs you have to type up and hand in. You should make sure you have read the assigned work actively (take notes or write on the story, poem, or play) before you come here.  Follow the DO NOW directions whenever you read a post. When you leave comments, be specific by referring to the literature with proper citation.  If a post includes an outside source, you should take a look at the source on your own before leaving a comment.  Remember, even though the blog is less formal, you still need to use proper Standard English.

Until the next assignment, happy reading!  

DO NOW: Please click on Comments. State what you expect to do and hope to accomplish in this class. Sign your comment with your first name and last initial (do NOT use your last name). If you have any problems posting comments, check the All About Blogs folder in Course Materials on Blackboard. There you will find a lot of tips about troubleshooting.