Week 18- Final noclass
- Jun 19 Thu 2014 00:44
Week 18- Final
- Jun 19 Thu 2014 00:38
Week 16-17 wrap up
Week 16-17 wrap up
*The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (wiki)
*Ursula K. Le Guin (wiki)
*Three well- known fantasy works:
1. The Lord of Rings from J. R. R. Tolkien
2. The Chronicles of Narnia from C. S. Lewis
3. Earth-Sea Cycle from Ursula K. Le Guin
*Dystopia (wiki)
Classic works
1) Brave New World (link)
2) Animal Farm (wiki)
3) Nineteen Eighty-Four (wiki)
*The Island (wiki)
* The Road Not Taken (wiki) (poetry)
The Road Not Taken
BY ROBERT FROST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- Jun 19 Thu 2014 00:14
Week 15-Willa Cather “Paul’s Case”
Week 15-Willa Cather “Paul’s Case”
Willa Cather “Paul’s Case” & Quiz Revision
Ø “Paul’s Case” (wiki) (spark note)
s Title
“Paul’s Case: A Study in Temperament”
s Author: Willa Cather (wiki)
Cather grew up in Nebraska and graduated from the University of Nebraska. She lived and worked in Pittsburgh for ten years. At the age of 33 she moved to New York, where she lived for the rest of her life.
(places related to the story “Paul’s case”)
× Quote
Paul’s image:
His clothes were a trifle outgrown, and the tan velvet on the collar of his open overcoat was frayed and worn; but for all that there was something of the dandy about him, and he wore an opal pin in his neatly knotted black-four-in-hand, and a red carnation in his buttonhole.
*opalà Opra(misspelling ); opal pin: adornment, decoration
Paul was tall for his age and very thin, with high, cramped shoulders and a narrow chest. His eyes were remarkable for a certain hysterical brilliancy, and he continually used them in a conscious, theatrical sort of way, peculiarly offensive in a boy.
Paul was quite accustomed to lying.
Paul was always smiling, always glancing about him, seeming to feel that people might be watching him and trying to detect something. This conscious expression, since it was as far as possible from boyish mirthfulness, was usually attributed to insolence or "smartness."
His bow was but a repetition of the scandalous red carnation.
He was a model usher; gracious and smiling he ran up and down the aisles; nothing was too much trouble for him; he carried messages and brought programs as though it were his greatest pleasure in life, and all the people in his section thought him a charming boy, feeling that he remembered and admired them.
s Image of teens (Paul)
à Paul was tall for his age and very thin
à with high, cramped shoulders
à a narrow chest
s Place
× New York
× City image: Every city has its own pictures in people’s mind and meanings in movies.
Chicago: the tangled human relationship
For example: The Lake House (2006) (wiki) (IMDb) (trailer)
“ This place is about connection.”
× Up in the Air (2009 film) 型男飛行日誌 (wiki)
s Movie (link) (IMDb)(YouTube)
s Faust (wiki) Christopher Marlowe (wiki) (play wiki) (Spark notes)
(1926IMDb)(2011 IMDb) (stage play clip)
- Ø Quiz Revision
s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (Quiz link)
Q. What could be a metaphor for the vulnerability of women?
A. Silence
B. Music
C. Art
D. Cars
E. Home (correct answer)
× Vulnerability: easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally; fragile
à the vulnerability of women => (kitchen/ home)
× Sexual mores (theme)
àIt’s not bad or good; it’s about choice. => Free will
× Free will (wiki)
In Genesis, the Garden of Eden, God give Adam and Eve free will to choose.
àthe tree of the knowledge of good and evil vs. the tree of life
#Genesis 2:8-9And Jehovah God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, as well as the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
#Genesis 2:15-17And Jehovah God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it. And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may eat freely, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of it you shall not eat; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
× Elaine Showalter
“A literature of their own” (amazon)
Jane Austen àthe feminine
Charlotte Bronteàthe female
Gorge Eliotàthe feminist
“Sister’s Choice” (amazon) (oxford)
Whole title: “Sister’s Choice: Traditions and Change in American Women's Writing”
s “Paul’s Case” (Quiz link)
- Jun 19 Thu 2014 00:05
Week 14 Lord of the Flies
- Jun 18 Wed 2014 23:57
Week 13 Joyce Carol Oates
Week 13 Joyce Carol Oates
*Joyce Carol Oates (wiki) (FB) (twitter) (official)
+Working Class American Author
+Princeton University
+ nominated for Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize
+“Where are you going? Where have you been?”
* “Where are you going? Where have you been?”
+Connie
è15 year-old girl
èBoring summer vacation (July)
è“pretty is everything”
ètwo sides, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home
èno time for her to grow ßàbildungsroman: secret garden
èif you are not born with silver spoon, than educate yourself =金湯匙
+Arnold Friend
èpun (ironic)
ècharmed
èsmooth talking
èdecrepit car= jalopy (wreck, rattle trap)
+open-ended story
“She cried out, she cried for her mother, she felt her breath start jerking back and forth in her lungs as if it were something Arnold Friend was stabbing her with again and again with no tenderness.” (spark notes)
à短刀
à性暗示
àMacbeth
= The menacing closing scene, with Connie opening the door to go to Arnold, strongly suggests that if bad things have happened, there are worse things to come; and if bad things have not yet happened, then they surely will.
+
* Beat generation 打垮、音樂、新行為
+Allen Ginsberg’s Howl (poet)
+Daniel Radcliff
* Lost generation 頹廢
+Patriot (愛國者) àF. Scott Fitzgerald/ T.S. Eliot
*Bob Dylan “it’s all over now baby blue” “blowing in the wind” 反戰
* etymology
Se: apart from, away from; ex. select, separate, segregation
Segregate school(男校或女校)ßàintegrate school
En: enforce, enlarge
De: down, away from
- Jun 18 Wed 2014 23:02
Week 12 D.H. Lawrence
Week 12 D.H. Lawrence
*D.H. Lawrence (wiki) (bio.) (lit.) (Academic) (grade saver)
+tedious
* “The Piano” (text) (video) (study guide)
+D.H. cannot cut the connection with his mother
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.
In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song
Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.
So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour
With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.
* “The Rocking-Horse Winner” (wiki) (text1) (text2) (study guide)
+ paragraph 1, 2, 3 àsub conflict
+ paragraph 4 àmajor
+ Rocking-Horse
èWhat’s this?
èGoes nowhere=> can’t win
èWin?! Winner=> who?
+what’s luck?
èit’s better to be born lucky than rich
è“Now take me to where there is luck” (furious ride)
+ “There must be more money!”
+ Luck vs. Fortune (conflict)
+ “You nerver did!” àpaul’s death
+terms
àDJ= Disk jockey
àhonour(British) = honor (American)
*花凋 張愛玲 (text) (wiki) (official)à “There must be more money!”
“等爹有錢……非得有很多的錢,多得滿了出來,才肯花在女儿的學費上——女儿的大學文憑原是最狂妄的奢侈品。”
* Joyce Carol Oates (c.f. next week)
- Jun 18 Wed 2014 22:43
Week 11 Detective Fiction
Week 11 Detective Fiction
* Detective Fiction
1. Edgar Allan Poe “The Raven” (c.f. Week 6 )
2. Agatha Christie “The Queen of Crime” (1890-1976)
Murder on the Orient Express(wiki) (official website) (biography) (IMDb)
3. Arthur Conan Doyle (wiki) (official) (BBC) (bio.)
àSeries of Sherlock Holmes (wiki) (home) (stories) (museum)
(movie clip) (IMDb)
* Romance novel (wiki)
Don Quixote (wiki) (spark notes) (lit.) (text)
Don Quixote, fully titled The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
Chivalric (c.f. Week 10)
Three important concepts of chivalry:
a. Duties to countrymen and fellow Christians: warrior chivalry
b. Duties to God: religious chivalry
c. Duties to women: courtly love chivalry
*Bildungsroman (link) “Araby” initiation (wiki) (c.f. Week 8)
* Point of View (wiki) (link) (pov)
Narrative point of view in the creative writing of fiction describes the narrator's position in relation to the story being told.
1. First-Person The Great Gatsby
2. Third-Person Harry Potter
* D.H. Lawrence (wiki) (c.f. Week 12)
*Etymology
1. shire/bury: Yorkshire; Canterbury (place to live)
2. ium: auditorium (area)
- Jun 16 Mon 2014 21:58
week10-after mid-term#
week10-after mid-term#
Run through the answers of mid-term.
#9 Answer: The Holy Grail / Chalice (wiki)
In Christian tradition the Holy Chalice is the vessel which Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve the wine. The vessel is referred to in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the word "cup" being generally used in English translations.
“And He took a cup and when He had given thanks He gave it to them saying 'Drink this, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom”-The Gospels of Matthew 26:27
The Holy Grail is an important theme of Arthurian literature. In the later 12th and early 13th centuries, The Grail legend became interwoven with legends of the Holy Chalice. The connection with vessels associated with the Last Supper and crucifixion of Jesus.
*The material of The Holy Grail: wooden OR jewelry?
*Last Supper (wiki)
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion
The Last Supper Artist:Leonardo da Vinci Year: 1494–1498 Type: tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic Dimensions: 460 cm × 880 cm (181 in × 346 in) Location: Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan |
About The Lord’s Supper (wiki) 聖餐禮
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And He took a cup and gave thanks, and He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, For this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” - THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TOMATTHEW 26:26-28
*Middle ages or Medieval period (wiki)
In European history, the Middle Ages, or Medieval period, lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery.
From the 12th century onward chivalry came to be understood as a moral, religious and social code of knightly conduct. The particulars of the code varied, but codes would emphasize the virtues of courage, honor, and service. Chivalry also came to refer to an idealization of the life and manners of the knight at home in his castle and with his court.
The medieval development of chivalry, with the concept of the HONOR OF A LADY and the ensuing knightly devotion to it, not only derived from the thinking about the Virgin Mary, but also contributed to it.
Three important concepts of chivalry:
a. Duties to countrymen and fellow Christians: warrior chivalry
b. Duties to God: religious chivalry
c. Duties to women: courtly love chivalry
1.1 King Arthur (wiki) (biography) (IMDb) (Arthurian) (Britannia)
King Arthur is a medieval, mythological figure who was the head of the kingdom Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table. It is not known if there was a real Arthur, though it is believed he may have been a Roman-affiliated military leader who successfully staved off a Saxon invasion during the 5th to 6th centuries. His legend has been popularized by many writers.
Excalibur: (wiki)the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain.
1.2 Knight (wiki)
A knight was a vassal who served as a fighter for a lord, with payment in the form of land holdings. The lords trusted the knights, who were skilled in battle on horseback.
2 Mary (HONOR OF A LADY)
Virgin queen: Elizabeth I (official) Virgin Mary
Queen: Elizabeth I
Bloody Queen: Mary I (Tudor history)
3 Feudalism vs. Catholicism
(封建制度 vs. 天主教)
4 Faith vs. Reason (middle agesàRenaissance)
*Araby (short story) cf. week 8
1 Bazaar (wiki)
A bazaar is a word used in the Middle East for an open-air marketplace or commercial quarter.
3 Passion, adoration, mission
#7 Answer: Epiphany (holiday)à主顯節 (wiki) ; (feeling)à頓悟 (wiki)
1. Epiphany is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. *E, Ex= out *reveal à Book of Revelation 啟示錄
2. An epiphany is an experience of sudden and striking realization. (Araby’s overheard)
3. Initiationà commencement (*commence begin) =graduation ceremony; hooding ceremony
4. The twelfth night (holiday) (play) (play’s wiki) (play –spark notes)
The twelfth night is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–02 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centers on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck.
* twins Viola and Sebastianà She’s the Man 足球尤物
#11 Answer: light & shadow
*Araby (short story) (wiki) (text) cf. Week 8
Illusion àThe contrast of light and shadow demonstrates the possible obsession, desire, longing of the boy’s toward female body, or romance.
*Rembrandt (wiki)
Among the more prominent characteristics of Rembrandt's work are his use of chiaroscuro, the theatrical employment of LIGHT AND SHADOWderived from Caravaggio, or, more likely, from the Dutch Caravaggisti, but adapted for very personal means
In the decade following the Night Watch, Rembrandt's paintings varied greatly in size, subject, and style. The previous tendency to create dramatic effects primarily by strong contrasts of LIGHT AND SHADOW gave way to the use of frontal lighting and larger and more saturated areas of color.
The Night Watch (wiki)
Artist: Rembrandt van Rijn Year: 1642 Type: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 363 cm × 437 cm (142.9 in × 172.0 in) Location: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq,also known as The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, but commonly referred to as The Night Watch (Dutch: De Nachtwacht), is a 1642 painting by Rembrandt van Rijn.
- Jun 16 Mon 2014 21:58
week9-mid-term#
week9-mid-term#
- Jun 16 Mon 2014 21:51
week8-James Joyce’s Araby#
week8-James Joyce’s Araby#
I. Essay writing (c.f. week 2-5)
II. James Joyce’s “Araby”
*James Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century. Joyce is best known for Ulysses (1922) Other major works are the short-story collection Dubliners (1914).
*Dubliners (spark notes) (grade saver)
* “Araby” (wiki) (spark notes) (e-note) (shmoop) (text)
A short story in Dubliners
*Retreat 避靜 (wiki) (Catholic things)
Retreats are an integral part of the Catholic faith. It is healthy to get away from everyday life, rest, and renew your faith regularly.
Epiphany (holiday)à主顯節 (wiki) ; (feeling)à頓悟 (wiki)
(Joyce’s Epiphany) (lit.) (jamesjoyce)
An epiphany is an experience of sudden and striking realization.
(Araby’s overheard)
Remembering with difficulty why I had come, I went over to one of the stalls and examined porcelain vases and flowered tea-sets. At the door of the stall a young lady was talking and laughing with two young gentlemen. I remarked their English accents and listened vaguely to their conversation. 'O, I never said such a thing!' 'O, but you did!' 'O, but I didn't!' 'Didn't she say that?' 'Yes. I heard her.' 'O, there's a... fib!' (無關痛癢的小謊 Observing me, the young lady came over and asked me did I wish to buy anything. The tone of her voice was not encouraging; she seemed to have spoken to me out of a sense of duty. I looked humbly at the great jars that stood like eastern guards at either side of the dark entrance to the stall and murmured: 'No, thank you.' The young lady changed the position of one of the vases and went back to the two young men. They began to talk of the same subject. Once or twice the young lady glanced at me over her shoulder. I lingered before her stall, though I knew my stay was useless, to make my interest in her wares seem the more real. Then I turned away slowly and walked down the middle of the bazaar. I allowed the two pennies to fall against the sixpence in my pocket. I heard a voice call from one end of the gallery that the light was out. The upper part of the hall was now completely dark. Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.( 氣自己的無知 |
* Bazaar (wiki)
Give coin (foreshadowing) = give coin to Caron the ferryman by the River Styx
Deathà heart, innocent
A bazaar is a word used in the Middle East for an open-air marketplace or commercial quarter.
*Initiation (initiation journeyà a journey of no return
(wiki) is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense it can also signify a transformation in which the initiate is 'reborn' into a new role. Examples of initiation ceremonies might include Hindu diksha, Christian baptism or confirmation, Jewish bar or bat mitzvah, acceptance into a fraternal organization, secret society or religious order, or graduation from school or recruit training.
àcommencement (*commence begin) =graduation ceremony; hooding ceremony
Graduation ceremony
Hooding ceremony: A Hooding Ceremony is a special recognition ceremony for doctoral degree candidates, during which a faculty advisor and the Dean of Graduate Academics place the doctoral hood, signifying his or her success in completing the graduate program. The ceremony is similar to a graduation in that the faculty and students are dressed in academic attire. The Hooding Ceremony is in addition to and does not replace the Graduate Commencement.
* The Holy Grail / Chalice(wiki)