Today we will discuss Jorge Luis Borges’s “The Library of Babel.” The writer Jonathan Basile has created a fascinating representation of Borges’s idea at this website:
Patrick Duffey
Edgar Allan Poe, “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket”
On Wednesday, October 19th, we will begin to discuss the extraordinary only novel of Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.
Please do the following by Wednesday:
- Read the Preface and Chapters 1-4 for Wednesday. The text is in the public domain and is available online at these websites:
- Either print out the assigned reading for each day, or bring your laptop or other device to class with the electronic version available. Bring to class a marked up hard copy, or notes to refer to with the electronic version.
- Read the following article from The Guardian, as an introduction to the novel:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/24/arthur-gordon-pym-nantucket-edgar-allan-poe-100-novels
Guidelines for Blog Posts 4-6
Guidelines for Blog Post #’s 4-6.
Due date: Thursday, October 13, 11:59pm
Length: 750 words or more
Value: This post will count as the equivalent of THREE POSTS. Do not write it as three separate posts, but it will count as three (4, 5 and 6).
Theme:
In this post, I want you to discuss the chapters of 100 Years of Solitude (Loneliness) that we have read so far, the poems by Pablo Neruda that I sent you via email, and the film Il postino[The Postman] (Radford, 1996).
In these three sources, metaphors and symbols are important. In a coherent essay of at least 750 words, provide specific examples from all three of how metaphors/symbols convey meaning. For instance, in 100 Years, one can interpret the arrival of the gypsies and their introduction of foreign objects (a magnifying glass, navigation equipment, a magnet, ice, etc.) on a number of levels. The plague of insomnia, Amaranta’s covered, burned hand, Aureliano’s little golden fishes, etc. can all be read as representations of other levels of meaning. Similarly, the images in Neruda poems (“Walking Around”, “Barcarole”, etc) can be interpreted as representing different meanings. In Il postino, there are numerous discussions about how to invent such metaphors and symbols and how to interpret them. How does this film define “metáfori”—metaphors? Some of Neruda’s important poems are actually recited in the film. You should also read and refer to TWO reviews of The Postman, available here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110877/externalreviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
The feminisation of madness is crazy–Blog Post #3
Here is an excellent article related to our discussion of The House of the Spirits, Volver, and the film we will watch on Monday, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. You will analyze, discuss, and critique the theme of madness and women in Blog Post #3.
Your next blog post will be due NEXT Thursday, Sept. 22 at 11:59pm or before. Your post must discuss these all of the following: THOTS, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and the Guardian article, “The Feminisation of Madness is Crazy.” You may also include Volver, if you wish. Posts should be at least 300 words in length. Longer is fine.
Blog Post #2. Assignment details
Due: no later than Thursday, Sept. 8, 11:59pm.
In your blog post of at least 300 words, do the following:
- Compare the characters, themes, and/or plot of Almodóvar’s Volver to Allende’s The House of the Spirits. What do the female characters have in common? The male characters? How does the style of magical realism compare?
- Read the movie reviews that I sent you prior to seeing the film:
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/volver-2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/movies/03volv.html?_r=0
- Read two additional movie reviews, available here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441909/externalreviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
- Cite two or more of these reviews in your blog post, linking to them and using MLA style. Incorporate their ideas into your blog post. Here is the Abell Library’s helpful website that gives you examples of MLA citation style: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Especially useful is the sample paper with a sample Works Cited page: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/
You should include a Works Cited page for your blog post, citing the movie reviews according to MLA style.
Arroyo’s
Asusena introduced Jacob and Tessa to Arroyo’s Mexican Restaurant.
Volver
Monday at 7pm in Jordan 103, we will have the pleasure of viewing Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver (Spain, 2006).
Your blog post #2 (due this Thursday night) will be a comparison of this film to Allende’s novel.
Here are two reviews of the film:
A.O. Scott, “The Darkest of Troubles in the Brightest of Colors” (New York Times, 3 Nov 2006)
