IMPORTANT UPDATE for those working on “Mourning Picture”

It just came to my attention that the version of the poem “Mourning Picture” on the site we have been using is incomplete.  Since it’s so late in the semester, I will not fault you if you only use the first two stanzas as you write about the painting and poem in your essays.  However, the final stanza might be very helpful for you, so I want to offer you the chance to read the whole poem–look for it here.  If you want to talk to me about this correction and what it means for your essay, please get in touch with me either by talking to be before or after class or by e-mailing me, or by talking to me in my office during an appointment or my office hours.

I hope this new information helps!

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Update on options for the painting and poem choices

It’s great that so many of you have signed up already–please be sure to post your choice before class on Monday.  Here is a list of who has signed up for which pairing so far.  Remember, no more than five people can sign up for one pairing.

“Starry Night ” by Vincent van Gogh (1889) and “The Starry Night” by Anne Sexton (1961)

1. Brittany
2. Melissa
3. Lester
4. Erica

“Girl Before a Mirror” by Pablo Picasso (1932) and “Before the Mirror” by John Updike (1996)

No takers so far?!  Five spaces left.

“Nude Descending a Staircase ” by Marcel Duchamp (1912) and “Nude Descending a Staircase” by X. J. Kennedy (1961)

1. Justin

“American Gothic” by Grant Wood (1930) and “American Gothic” by John Stone (1998)

1. Terel
2. Javon
3. Hugo

“Vincent’s Bedroom in Arles” by Vincent van Gogh (1888) and “Van Gogh’s Bed” by Jane Flanders (1985)

1. Bhumishti
2. Min
3. Richard

“Mourning Picture” by Edwin Romanzo Elmer (1890) and “Mourning Picture” by Adrienne Rich (1965)

1. Diana
2. Yun Sang

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Full list of in-class essay question choices

In a comment, choose up to 5 of the following questions that you would like to see on the assignment sheet for Wednesday’s in-class essay:

Avoiding plot summary in favor of analysis, answer one of the following questions:

1. Using 2-3 stories we have read so far, analyze how the narratives depict death.  Is death always something negative?
2. Loss is depicted in various ways in the stories we have read.  Compare 2 stories in which loss is depicted on more than one level (figuratively and literally, physically and mentally or emotionally, etc)
3. Consider the complexity of family relationships in 2-3 stories we have read.  How do they offer strength or undermine the protagonist?
4. Using 2-3 stories we have read, discuss the importance of setting or physical environment.
5. Using 2-3 stories we have read, discuss the importance of home.
6. How do 2-3 stories take different approaches to incorporating the difficulty of the unknown?
7. What tensions do secrets create in 2-3 of the stories we have read, and how are those tensions resolved—or not?
8. Compare how characters benefit from being members of a community in 2-3 of the stories we have read.
9. Compare how 2-3 characters conform to or challenge cultural standards or values, and what outcome do they face?
10. Compare 2-3 characters from different stories who seek freedom or liberation.  How does the narrative treat their quest?
11. Discuss how 2-3 characters from different stories take different stances against oppression.
12. What purpose does suffering or sadness serve in 2-3 stories, and how are these characters able to transcend their suffering?
13. Consider one complex relationships in 2-3 stories we have read.  How do they offer strength or undermine the protagonist?
14. Analyze how money factors in 2-3 stories that we have read, and compare what message each conveys about money.
15. Compare how gender dynamics are portrayed in 2-3 stories we have read?
16. Using 2-3 stories, compare how characters search to move beyond their current reality to fulfill a dream.  Are these quests realistic?
17. Compare how different narration styles affect the reader’s experience using 2-3 stories we have read as examples.
18. How do 2-3 stories we have read interior thoughts to establish characterization?
19. How do 2-3 stories we have read use dialog to establish characterization and characters’ relationships?
20. Consider how irony in 2 stories affects expectations—both characters’ and readers’ expectations
21. Compare how 2-3 stories use symbolism to underscore a prominent theme.

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Electronic submissions

I would like to try a new method of collecting essays electronically.  For the first essay this semester, I’ll collect a hard copy as well as an electronic one–if this works well, I may switch to collecting only electronic copies.

To collect the files, I have created an online dropbox for our class.  Please click here or go to https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTIxMDk2MDA5 to sign up for a dropbox account–once you have created an account, I will be able to share the course folder with you.  This will be a place where all of us can share these files, but unlike on our blog, they will be securely behind password protection.

This is not optional–I will not grade your essay until I receive the electronic copy!

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Hello ENG 1121-5436!

Welcome to the course blog for ENG 1121 section 5436. I hope that you will make this an active and interesting blog, and an integral part of our class experience. Please feel free to post and comment not only when assigned, but also when you want to share your voice with the class. I look forward to reading what you have to say!

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