ENC 1102:  JOURNAL ASSIGNMENTS

 

 

 

JOURNAL 1:  In “Killings,” to what extent is the killing of Strout an act of revenge?  In other words, is Matt solely out for personal revenge?  If so, why does he lie to Strout?  Write about this for about 7-8 minutes, and fill up at least half the page.

 

 

Journal 2:  Re-read the third paragraph of the second column on page 109 of Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," and notice the word "evidently" (109).  Why does Faulkner use this word?  Did Emily really shut up the top floor of her house?  Also, why did the townspeople wait until after the funeral to open the closed room?  What word in the story informs you about the reasons for this delay?  Does it make sense to you that they would wait?  Write about this for about 7-8 minutes, and fill up at least half the page.

 

 

JOURNAL 3:  Time for another story mystery.  First, copy this statement in your journal:

 

In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” the grandmother tells the Misfit, “Why you’re one of my babies.  You’re one of my own children!” (O’Connor 46). 

 

After copying that statement, speculate on what it means.  Why does the grandmother say this?  Is it significant that this is the last thing she says in the story?  Has she changed? Use ALL of the 7-8 minutes of class writing time, and fill up AT LEAST half the page.

 

 

Journal 4:  What is your opinion of the film adaptation of "A Rose for Emily"?  Does it attempt to answer any of the questions that the original short story raised for you?  Does the plot of the film differ from the plot of the story in any way?  Is it better?  Worse?  Which do you prefer?  Note:  If you did not attend this class, the video is available to watch in the library.

 

 

 

JOURNAL 5:  The narrator of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" describes her residence as "a haunted house" (Gilman 289).  Is it really haunted, in your opinion?  If it's not haunted, how do you explain the narrator's strange behavior?  If time:  What about the narrator of “The School”?  Would you describe his behavior as strange?  How responsible is he for the strange occurrences in his classroom?

 

 

 

Journal 6:  Write about possible symbols in “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Anymore.”  Can you tie their possible meanings to issues and problems presented in the story?  If you run out of things to say, do the same with “Fiesta 1980.”

 

 

 

Journal 7:  Regarding “The Lottery,” write about any of the following:

1.           “I tell you it wasn’t fair,” Mrs. Hutchinson says to the townspeople in “The Lottery” (Jackson 369).  Is it fair?  Why or why not?

2.           “People ain’t what they used to be,” says Old Man Warner in “The Lottery” (370).  Are they?  What does he mean?

3.           Discuss the significance of this passage at the end of the “Lottery”:  “The children had stones already, and someone gave little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles” (Jackson 370).

4.           Discuss the degree to which the tradition of the lottery has been kept.  Why does no one want to make a new box?  Why is the whole institution not abandoned?

5.           One reason that the ending can surprise the reader is that the villagers never speak directly of what they are about to do.  Why not?  Are they ashamed?  Afraid?

6.           Why are the people in such a hurry to finish the ritual?

7.           After her family has received the black spot, Tessie complains, but Mrs. Delacroix tells her, “Be a good sport, Tessie” (Jackson 369).  Comment on this choice of words.

 

 

 

JOURNAL 8:  In Tim O’Brien’s “How to Tell a True War Story,” both the narrator and Rat use the phrase “dumb cooze” to refer to two different people.  Why?  Think about the circumstances. Are they justified in using this phrase to refer to these women?  Also, review the definition of “metafiction” from several classes ago.  Why might this story be called a work of metafiction? (See if you understand the term.)

 

 

JOURNAL 9:  Krebs thinks a lot about "lies" in this story. What kinds of lies does he tell or refuse to tell? Why do they nauseate him? In what way might this be connected to his war experiences?

 

 

JOURNAL 10:  Raymond Carver once claimed that in “the best fiction, the central character, the hero or heroine, is also the ‘moved’ character, the one to whom something happens in the story that makes a difference.  Something happens that changes the way that character looks at himself and hence the world.”  To what extent did Carver practice this philosophy in “Cathedral”?  Can you see a “moved” character?  Who?  In what way?

 

 

 

JOURNAL 11:  Although your book does not indicate this, the subtitle of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” is “A Tale for Children” (I’m not sure why our book leaves this off, by the way).  Is it a tale for children?  Where does it seem most like a child’s tale?  Where does it seem like something different?

 

 

 

JOURNAL 12:  Think about Bill and Betty, the two characters in Sure Thing.  How consistent do they remain throughout the play?  In other words, does Ives have them change in any particular way throughout the play?  Is there just ONE Bill and Betty?

 

*NOTICE HOW WE ITALICIZE THE TITLES OF PLAYS.

*JOURNALS WILL BE COLLECTED AT THE END OF THIS WEEK.

 

 

JOURNAL 13:  HOMEWORK JOURNAL!  Bring this to class with you on March 5th.  Your topic:  Find a speech of five lines or more by Oedipus in Oedipus the King that show us an aspect of the problem he is facing or a particular flaw he has.  Then, re-write that speech in modern-sounding language.  (Example from page 1348:  “Dang, I’ve really dug myself a deep hole, and now I feel like I have to come clean . . .).