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fandomhigh2006-03-27 08:05 am
theoenophile.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2006-03-27 08:05 am
Western Lit - 3/27/06
"Good morning, class. I hope that the weekend was fun. Mine was great. My ex-wife just had a beautiful baby boy with her husband." Miles pauses. "That's... you know, good for here. The planet needs more over-population, anyway. Squeeze a few more in the cracks." A testy expression flits about his face, vying with more reasonable sensibilities for dominance.
He takes a sip of water. "I'm sorry. However, it does bring us to this week's reading, Poe's A Cask of Amontillado. This is probably one of my favorite short stories of all time, not because it is rich with layers of subtext and meaning like Joyce, but because it is a good story well-told."
"I'm sure we've all had days, weeks, months, even years where things just don't seem to work out. You get divorced. Your novel doesn't get published. Your meticulously planned weekend in wine country is ruined because your best friend can't keep it in his pants. When we hit the bottom, sometimes we just need somebody to blame. Some people blame God. Others blame themselves. Montresor chooses to blame Fortunato."
"The matter at hand in The Cask of Amontillado is not the thousand injuries or the insult that Fortunato had supposedly brought to Montresor. No proof or example is offered, just the fact of their existence. This makes Montresor an unreliable narrator, and heightens the terror of the story. One man, with takes it upon himself to cast judgment on another and bear out a horrible revenge. Being buried alive was one of Poe's greatest fears, and he used it over and over again in his stories. This use is perhaps the most famous, however."
"Today's quiz will be your entire participation grade for the day. Questions 1 and 2 relate to Good Country People and Hunchback of Notre Dame respectively, and are worth 25% each. The final question, relating to Cask, will be worth 50% of the quiz. This is a take-home quiz, so you may choose to turn it in next week when we discuss Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway."
QUIZ
1. Is Brutha's unfortunate circumstance at the end of Good Country People somehow her own doing, or is she blameless? Explain.
2. Other than Quasimodo, there are two atypical male leads in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Phoebus and Gringoire. Pick one, and name one way in which he acts the part of the heroic protagonist and one way he does not. Uses examples where necessary.
3. Imagine that Montresor has been arrested for the murder of Fortunato, and you are his lawyer. Defend his actions to the judge. 40% of the quiz grade will be on the quality of the writing, and 10% will be based on whether I, the judge, choose to release the prisoner.
"In addition to the quiz and Mrs. Dalloway, next week I would like you to turn in which of the works on the final project list you will be writing about, as well as a sentence on what aspect you will be writing about."
He takes a sip of water. "I'm sorry. However, it does bring us to this week's reading, Poe's A Cask of Amontillado. This is probably one of my favorite short stories of all time, not because it is rich with layers of subtext and meaning like Joyce, but because it is a good story well-told."
"I'm sure we've all had days, weeks, months, even years where things just don't seem to work out. You get divorced. Your novel doesn't get published. Your meticulously planned weekend in wine country is ruined because your best friend can't keep it in his pants. When we hit the bottom, sometimes we just need somebody to blame. Some people blame God. Others blame themselves. Montresor chooses to blame Fortunato."
"The matter at hand in The Cask of Amontillado is not the thousand injuries or the insult that Fortunato had supposedly brought to Montresor. No proof or example is offered, just the fact of their existence. This makes Montresor an unreliable narrator, and heightens the terror of the story. One man, with takes it upon himself to cast judgment on another and bear out a horrible revenge. Being buried alive was one of Poe's greatest fears, and he used it over and over again in his stories. This use is perhaps the most famous, however."
"Today's quiz will be your entire participation grade for the day. Questions 1 and 2 relate to Good Country People and Hunchback of Notre Dame respectively, and are worth 25% each. The final question, relating to Cask, will be worth 50% of the quiz. This is a take-home quiz, so you may choose to turn it in next week when we discuss Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway."
QUIZ
1. Is Brutha's unfortunate circumstance at the end of Good Country People somehow her own doing, or is she blameless? Explain.
2. Other than Quasimodo, there are two atypical male leads in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Phoebus and Gringoire. Pick one, and name one way in which he acts the part of the heroic protagonist and one way he does not. Uses examples where necessary.
3. Imagine that Montresor has been arrested for the murder of Fortunato, and you are his lawyer. Defend his actions to the judge. 40% of the quiz grade will be on the quality of the writing, and 10% will be based on whether I, the judge, choose to release the prisoner.
"In addition to the quiz and Mrs. Dalloway, next week I would like you to turn in which of the works on the final project list you will be writing about, as well as a sentence on what aspect you will be writing about."