Today we reviewed Essay 2, on Wit. The essays are due now.
Homework is to read the four selections in 40 Short Stories and choose one story to analyze in 250 words.
For Thursday, chose another story (of the four) and do the same. Post it here.
Homework for Thursday, April 24, 2014, is to choose 1-2 stories with similar themes (your choice) and using one of the essay forms in Reading and Writing about Literature, write a 3-4 page essay, not including a works cited page. Use one citation per page. Find two other literary and/or scholarly resource in the library database or library.
It goes without saying that the MLA should be perfect (smile).
Complete an annotation for both articles. Include with the portfolio for the essay. The essay is due, Tuesday, April 29, 2014 in class. Make sure it is your best writing.
We will write an in class essay next week on one of the stories.
Here is a recap of OWL Purdue links for Revisions:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/2/65/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/690/1/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/690/01/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/635/01/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/574/02/ (It is always best to connect the ideas. Conjunctions fail when the ideas are not related.)
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4 comments:
Jules Moore
Professor Sabir
English 1B
April 24, 2014
Short Essay Response from 40 short stories
In the short story Drown we see the mysterious unraveling of a young man’s sexuality while in an urban context. A young latin boy finds himself in an uncanny relationship with his once friend. The main character is confronted with the realization that his now gay friend is back from college. Two years prior the two friends start off as thick of thieves, stealing from stores and other teenage angst. The young boys come from troubled and broken homes. Surround by low income ghettos and violence they find comfort in each other.
Our protagonist remains nameless but he refers to his friend and sexual partner as Beto. We follow the story as the protagonist traces his steps and how he arrived to his homosexual experiences. Beto is a “pato” which is a spanish slang for a homosexual. Before Beto came out he was just a close friend. While Beto was away for college and his left behind friend goes deeper in the ghetto scene. Selling drugs and becoming a icon the kids in the neighborhood fear. As Beto returns home we go on a journey to figure out why our protagonist is now in resentment to Beto.
Beto is no longer a friend but represents a desire that the writer doesn't want to face. Being gay is something he can afford, the author suggest that being gay is not something you be while living in the ghetto. Being gay can only be explored outside of the hood. As the story comes to a close we are left with a bitter and feeling that Beto is no better off than the friend he left behind.
Jules Moore
Professor Sabir
English 1B
April 24, 2014
Short Essay Response to Birdsong
In the short story Birdsong we see the unsettling story of a mistress who has sexual encounters with a African politician. Hoping to keep the rendezvous strictly sexual it becomes more than the mistress can handle as she is haunted by a beautiful woman who looks from a far causing the mistress to recount her steps.
Our protagonist remains nameless much like the other essay Drown but refers to her male counterpart as “lover”. Our female lead is warned countless times to stay away from a married man but her fear of being left alone without a husband like other African women she ignores her fears. Her heart gets caught up in the love encounters. Dinners, trips, and inside jokes all intensifies her imagination to be with her “lover”. She is brutally reminded of the other life he leads with a wife and kids. As she retraces her steps she begins to wander the woman that has been watching her could possibly be her paramour’s wife or just her conscience.
As our protagonist can no longer bear the burden of her “lover” she begins to bring the relationship to a close. In the culture of Lagos we see how society treats the mistress of a high-powered official. People completely ignore her and look as her as home wrecker. As others have no respect for her, she begins to realize that this is all a game that she will not win. As her “lover” buys her expensive gifts but what she really wants too expensive for him to pay. Her desire is for her “lover” to leave his stable home and family but it is something he will never do. Our beloved protagonist is only left with her conscience and the watching eyes of what seems to be the wife who reminds her that she is no competition for her.
Adriene Banda
April 3, 2014
Professor Wanda Sabir
Engl 1B
Analysis of Paul’s Case
Paul is a young man in his teens who, in my opinion, is not very different than your average teen today. Paul is by himself most of the day which is interpreted through the story only focusing on the protagonist and his thoughts. The author chooses the to write in third person omnicscient which shows to be effective in trying to explain one the themes of the play (I will discuss this in the paragraphs to follow). At the beginning of the play, it is clear to see that Paul is a troubled teen because he goes to hearing at his local high school to appear to want to go back to school after having been suspended. Immediately the reader can assume that Paul may have gone through early life experience that may have caused him to act out.
The play consists of Paul’s activities leading to his suicide. Paul takes a train to New York and instead of depositing all the money from his job, the Denny and Carson firm, he chooses to pocket the cash and go on a binge of orchestra music, five star restaurants, fine clothes, and breath taking views. The reason for this madness may or may not have been his plan to finally experience the life he always dreamed of before jumping in front of the train. The fact that he had a revolver sitting on the furniture in his hotel room might mean that he had been planning for this unfortunate event for awhile now and having been expecting his father to show up in New York dragging him home by his ear may not be what scared him to commit suicide.
The story does not suggest his father was abusive in any way. It appears that Paul not only lost his mom early in life but also, his father was like any other father who had to work and provide for his son. His father seemed like a stern man because Paul was afraid of his father being upset at his for coming home late. However, he also seemed loving because after having been gone for a week because of work, he immediately went to New York to find his son and even gave the firm the money Paul stole with no questions asked.
I believe that this is yet another story about how misunderstood teens cry out to society but never get their screams heard because people overlook the hurt and pain with judgement and laziness. This act of defiance could have been just him mourning his mother or just wanting his teachers to stop assuming that he was a bad kid. He obviously had a mature mind because of his love for the arts and music; his teachers could have used his distress in a positive way.
Works Cited
Cather, William. “Paul’s Case.” Literature: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Garnder et al.
2nd ed. Boston: Bedford, 2009. 90-106. Print.
Adriene Banda
April 3, 2014
Professor Wanda Sabir
Engl 1B
Analysis of Araby
James Joyce’s, Araby, is about a young lad and his coming of age in love. Joyce never seems to mention his name but solely focuses on his emotions and his current mission of winning the girl of his dreams. The story starts off describing the way the protagonist feels about the girl, giving us much imagery to help us grasp the concept of how delicate his emotions are. The reader must be mindful of the fact that he is still young and may not even understand the feelings that he is experiencing. The protagonist never actually interacts or talks to Mangan’s sister, however, until they happen to be in the same room.
The moment they meet, he becomes such a school boy over her and becomes flustered. He, of course, wants to make a good impression on her. Their whole conversation is about Mangan’s sister not being able to go to the local bazaar because of a retreat that is of more importance. I assume that the protagonist wants to impress the girl and promises that he would get her a present since she won’t be able to go to the bazaar.
The short story continues with him counting the seconds and minutes until he can go to Araby to woo the girl of his dreams with the perfect souvenir. However, this boy’s pursuit gets ruined because his uncle forgets what might be the most important task of his life and comes late leaving him to go the bazaar as it closes. Consequently, he is unable to buy the only items that are left because he only had two shillings which leaves him devastated. He realizes at the end what he has become: “a creature driven and derided by vanity. (Joyce 111)” He becomes filled with sorrow because he was unable to fulfill the task that he was depending to make Mangan’s sister possibly fall for him.
Araby shows the common feelings of a boy who falls for a pretty girl. When one is unable to get his dream girl, the whole world seems to fall apart and emotions of anger and frustration take over. I believe this is a part of any boy’s life as he gets older.
Works Cited
Joyce, James. “Araby.” Literature: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Garnder et al. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford, 2009. 90-106. Print.
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