Satisfies: Other Literature (1c); Genre Study (Fiction) (Fiction);
Multinational (4a); Women Writers (4c); 2011 International Issues
(3a); 2011 Women and Gender Studies (3c); and GER World
Literature.
- to appreciate the interconnectedness of
20th-century world literature (comparative literature)
- to deepen knowledge about global politics
and culture and their centrality to literature (global studies)
- to learn to analyze literary elements in
short stories, novels, and dramas (literary criticism)
- to consider any differences and similarities between the way
men and women represent experiences (gendered readings)
- to synthesize writers’ representation of
difference (ethnic studies)
We address the following questions: What is painful
about growing up, and in what ways do narratives about
growing up mirror the pain of the world?
In the first unit, we will study how the traditional fairy
tale structure allows authors to portray characters' coming
of age. At the same time, we will try to read beneath the
surface of these tales, in order to see what authors might
be saying about greater political, social, cultural, and
gendered values in the modern world.
Literary
Terms
I.
Coming of Age: 1) reaching maturity, respectability, or
prominence; 2) losing one's virginity. When it is used as an
adjective, it is written with hyphens (coming-of-age).
Characters who come of age in literature do so through
life-changing events that challenge them to leave childhood
behind, and to embrace their status as adults. Examples of
coming-of-age stories are often found in young adult literature,
such as fairy tales, Catcher
in the Rye, Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn, and Their Eyes Were Watching God.
II.
Allegory: An allegory is a story that teaches readers
and listeners about important values by means of visual cues.
Many dictionary definitions cite the example of "blind justice,"
or the figure of Justice, who balances the scales while wearing
a blindfold. This visual allegory teaches audiences that justice
weighs issues blindly. Allegorical stories nearly always try to
teach audiences about some moral or lesson.
III. Symbol: Allegorical
stories often use symbols. In the example above, the blindfold
symbolizes impartiality, and the scales depict fairness.
The Benefits and Trials of Online Learning
Positives:
- You will learn to communicate quickly and effectively in
writing, a skill that is key for the modern workplace;
- Sometimes you can complete work at your own pace (although not
always: see Online FAQ on Blackboard);
- Learn new technologies and build confidence in learning new
tools;
- Less commuting to campus (and frustrations with traffic,
parking)
Negatives:
- Difficult for struggling students: It is very important that
you keep up with the work! Students who complete their work on
time seem to have very little problem adjusting to online
learning. Students who procrastinate and have a difficult time
keeping to a schedule, however, often fail to complete
coursework. So if you tend towards the latter, please consider
ways to become more diligent about deadlines this semester. I am
more than willing to talk to you about how to become a more
efficient learner.
* Another way we will combat the issue of
keeping up is that there will be no make ups of missed online classes. The only
way not to fall behind is to keep moving forward!
- Difficulties in absorbing the material:
Some students report learning more during our live class days.
It's very important to participate in all activities I give you
for our online class meetings. Not only does incomplete
participation count as an absence, I feel you might not be
learning all the knowledge I aim to share with you.
- Technology: I am very understanding about any problems with
technology you might encounter. Just email me about what's going
on, and we will try to find a solution.
1. An assumed character or role, esp. one
adopted by an author in his or her writing, or by a performer.
Also: a dramatic or
literary character (obs.).
2. a. The aspect of a person's
character that is displayed to or perceived by others.
b.Psychol. In Jungian
psychology: the outer or assumed aspect of character; a set of
attitudes adopted by an individual to fit his or her perceived
social role. Contrasted with anima.
International
Personae: For your writing online, it might be helpful to have
an alternate identity, a persona. This alter ego will help
give you a (fictional) voice that you can work with this
semester in your writing. Choose your own name based on your
nationality and gender.
Write a short description of your origins. What’s your
family like? Who are your friends and acquaintances? Why do you
get up in the morning?
Review
see "Names in this Book," p. 215
1. Political Allegories in Haroun:
Allusion #1: The 2 Kashmirs
Allusion #2: Rushdie's experience with the fatwa
2. Fairy Tale Elements in Haroun
3. Why does Haroun meet people in
the Ocean of Stories who resemble people he knows on earth?
What do you personally
think the use is of stories that are untrue?
Review of 9/27:
What's the
significance of the shadows?
- Shadow warriors serve Khattam-Shud and the
"cult of the tongueless ice-idol Bezaban" (131), which
means "Without-a-Tongue" (Rushdie 216).
- Duality of identity (132); cf.
Carl Jung (archetypes, shared consciousness) writes about the
duality of identity (anima/animus) that represents our
conscious/unconscious and feminine/masculine selves; cf.
Rushdie on literary archetypes (73)
- Part of the dichotomous world in Haroun (Gup vs. Chup) that loosely maps
on to our political landscape, where speech and stories are
permitted (the West) and where silence reigns (Iran). In the
latter, fanatical leaders' identities take on their own
personas and cast long shadows (cf. p. 154).
- "Haroun kept having the notion that the whole affair was
somehow impermanent,
that there was something not quite fixed or certain about it
all, as if some great sorcerer had somehow managed to build
the whole thing out of shadows--to give shadows a solidity
that Haroun had no idea they could possess" (Rushdie 152).
2. Why don't they confront
Prince Bolo about fighting for the ocean?
- just in bello = just war (war
fought for just causes)
- Bolo's insistence on fighting for Batcheat seems
ridiculous (136), but so does his regime (102, 193).
3. What is the significance
of 101?1001
Nights (Arabian Nights)
anti-fairy tale?
real world / world of stories
utopia / dystopia
4. Blabbermouth
- Why does she take the disconnecting tool?
- What does she represent in the novel? (107)
Lecture 9/29
A. What does Rushdie seem to
think the use of fiction (untrue stories) is?
1. Other points of view
can create a democratic world.
- The democratic
example of Gup (118)
- Stories
are alive and dynamic (72). They don't really belong to any one
person b/c all stories come from other stories (73, 86).
- Does so-called reality have to be dull? (114)
- A "suspicious and distrustful" populace does not stand
together in times of crisis (Rushdie 185).
2. Storytelling can be
used for political purposes: to serve and destroy.
- 26: profession of Rashid Khalifa/Shah of Blah
- 88, 98: the Pages of Gup as propaganda
- "'Now the fact is
that I personally have discovered that for every story there is an
anti-story. I mean that every story--and so every
Stream of Story--has a shadow-self,
and if you pour this anti-story into the story, the two
cancel each other out, and bingo! End of story" (Rushdie
160).
- This represents an attempt to dominate and control
others' opinions (Rushdie 161). When that fails, fanatical
leaders use terrorism (183) and idols (190).
3. They preserve language
in a world where it is disintegrating.
- 31: crude and rude signs; "war makes people crude"
(Rushdie 184)
- 57: world of acronyms (P2C2E)
- So a world where stories are being destroyed represents
ecological disaster, or the destruction of an entire
world.
Why does he use the iris as the flower? Does the loss of
the military power have anything to do with the crazy
iris?
- frames story
- juxtaposition
- paper / tissue paper : ephemeral (transient) --
civilization deteriorating
Could the metaphor of the "crazy iris" be used in a contemporary
sense. As in, could we relate it to our time?
"Human Ashes" (1966)
- Why does he write about sexuality?
Peversion > his coming of age / maturation has been
destroyed
- What's the relevance of God on p. 78?
- What's the significance of the colors of the ashes of the
bodies?
"Empty Can" (1978)
- The can is not empty, but their wombs are.
- Shame mentioned in first paragraph with memory of faulty
plumbing (128).
- Multiple protagonists, perspectives typical of women's
writing (écriture féminine)
"The Colorless Paintings" (1961)
- The impossibility of understanding the full ramifications
of the shame of the bomb
What is the difference
between male writing on the A-Bomb ("Crazy Iris," "Human
Ashes") and female writing about the same event ("Colorless
Paintings," "Empty Can," Hiroshima mon amour)?
NB: women's writing [écriture féminine]
(Clément and Cixous), gynocentric writing
Male:
"Crazy Iris" (Ibuse) and "Human Ashes" (Oda)
Events-centered
Narrators have names, identities
Sexuality part of story
Immediate composition
Solo narrators
"Colorless
Paintings" (Sata) and "Empty Can" (Hayashi)
- anonymous characters and
narrators
- long-term effects on sexuality,
bodies, and emotions
- focused on emotions, not events
- written from a mature perspective
- community of voices
- coming of age interrupted / delayed?
Citation:
When citing a story from the anthology Crazy Iris, you must cite
the author of the story, not the editor (Oe).
Midterm Review
Find examples of literary elements
allegory, irony, juxtaposition, keywords, metaphor, motif,
oxymoron, simile, symbol, and/or word choice in the following
texts:
"Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp;" Duras, Hiroshima mon amour;
Hayashi, "The Empty Can;" Ibuse, "Crazy Iris;" "Jack and the
Beanstalk;" Oda, "Human Ashes;" Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories;
and Sata, "Colorless Paintings" Review
Questions about iTunes
lecture
How old are Mireille and Ousmane?
What were the students in Paris revolting against
specifically. I know it was against establishment but what
kind? What exactly were their grievances?"
What inspired Ba to write this novel?
Ques. 1: Max, Myah
Ques. 2: Sabina, Jessica
Ques. 3: Consider also Ousmane's continued obedience to his
parents (84-5), and Mireille's lack of consideration for
community and religion (90-3)
- university presses
- chapters
- keep button
- keyword search: Senegal French
C. Subject Databases
Anthropology > HRAF
- iris and Japan
History > Historical Abstracts
- try atom* and Japan
- * allows it to search with anything with atom in it (atomic
and atom bomb)
Language and Literature > MLA
>> Language / Literature:
* Rushdie sometimes spelled Salmon Rushdie
* Look at bibliography of other works to find others
* Endnote Web (Library > Services
> Endnote Web)
Psychology > Gender Watch
- children and Cinderella
How
can you tell if it's peer reviewed?
- University press, author who's a professor, uses other
scholarly sources
- select on EBSCO, Proj. Muse, JSTOR, ProQuest
- check journal page, submission guidelines Review
Final Exam
- Tests the extent to which you have learned critical
thinking skills, and the ability to read closely and connect
literature to major issues in the world
- Strategies for review: rereading, online lectures, student
journals
I,
Rigoberta Menchu
- Importance of her father in her educational upbringing
- What does her serve her political agenda to portray Indian
women as chaste, modest, and different than ladinos?
Peer
Review of Research Synopsis
Read another student's paper and then help him or her by
suggesting how these criteria might be met.
1) Introduction + Argument: Does it have an introductory
paragraph outlining the research question(s), and narrating
what motivated the writer to choose this topic?
2) Support: Does it include at least a paragraph about each of
the sources and share how each item was located? about how the
source addresses the research question? Does the summary of
each article include an annotated bibliography that answers
the following questions?
• What is the argument?
• What main points does the author make?
• What type of evidence does he or she use?
• What audience is this piece directed
towards?
• What scholastic debate or intellectual
tradition is this piece a part of? What kind of bias might the
author have?
3) Conclusion: Does the synopsis have a conclusion? The
conclusion should argue what this research has done to change
your perspective on the primary literary work. What additional
angle does this piece give you on your chosen book? Or, is
your own response more valuable than the criticism or
extra-literary material you found? If so, what is that
reader’s response?
4) Style: Suggest where writing can be improved. Students may
use “I” in this narrative, but please avoid the word “you.”
5) Citation: Is it always clear where another author's ideas
begin, and the writer's ideas end? You must distinguish
between your ideas and those of the authors you are reporting
on. You must cite every time you report an author's ideas, not
only by citing page numbers, but also by indicating through
words and phrasing ("According to Smith's book Literature . .
. "; "The author of this article argues . . . ") that you are
reporting second-hand information. Failure to do so could
result in a 0 on this paper, because pretending another's
ideas are your own constitutes plagiarism.
6) If the paper does not already have a creative title,
suggest one.
Groups:
I: Fairy Tales and Haroun
II: Atomic Bomb
III: Scarlet Song and Menchu
In groups, talk about your research question; what you found
out; how you found it; and in what ways your perspective
about the literary text has changed (or not). Journal Portfolios:
Share what you learned about close literary analysis; your
own strengths and weaknesses as a writer; and your favorite
journal (your own or other students')
Review for Final Exam
Ba
1. What colonialism means
to you, and to Ba.
Gennette: Forces you to change to fit another culture's view
(cf. Ba 99).
Chang: an attempt by one culture to expand by destroying
overrunning another culture's identity (Japan/Korea)
Sabina: the control of one country by another for economic
means (Britain/Kenya)
Myah: loss of freedom
2. What seems fair about
African women's lives in Ba's novel?
all: polygamy
Gennette: competition, choices/community
Jessica + Alyssa + Myah: women take over work from
mother-in-law
Sabina: women's lack of economic resources vs. their
economic responsibilities for their families; lack of unity
among the women