English 1B, Introduction to Literature

Dale T. Jensen, Instructor

A Fully-Accredited Online Course Offered By Barstow College

Lesson 2

Reminder!

Please remember also that your short story paper as well as all work on Lesson 2 is due on Sunday by midnight. Go to the class homepage for the link with the instructions.  You can expect to do a paper about every two weeks.  Plan ahead and use your time wisely.

Fiction

"Araby," Joyce, page 102

James Joyce's "Araby" centers around a boy's infatuation with his friend's older sister.  The attraction to her is a strange combination of religious worship and eroticism.  The boy is driven to distraction with his love obsession.  The girl is shown in light like a religious figure, but even so there is something sexually suggestive whether it be her hair, neck, or exposed petticoat.  The girl cannot go to Araby, an oriental bazaar, so the boy will go and get something for her--thus begins the quest archetype.  As you read this story, notice the plethora of religious imagery; some would say that it is to an excess.  Even the hall where the bazaar takes place suggests a church.  Joyce uses an "epiphany" in many of his short stories in which the character has a sudden understanding or self realization.  "Araby" is no exception. 

"Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne, page 82

Set in Salem (yes, the same Salem of the notorious witchcraft trials), Nathaniel Hawthorne's story involves Goodman Brown who journeys into the woods at sunset.  Leaving Faith, his bride of three months, at home, Brown meets another traveler who appears to be an older version of Brown.  Is it the devil?  Who are these people meeting in the woods?  What is the ceremony?  Or was this just all a dream, an illusion in Brown's mind?  Hawthorne's ancestors  participated in the witchcraft trials back in the 1600s, and Hawthorne uses historical allusions from that period in his story.  He is one of America's first symbolic writers, so get ready for references to color, darkness, light, and fire.  Even some of the characters are allegorical.

"The House on Mango Street," Cisneros, page 147

This vignette, the first in a collection of sketches and short stories entitled The House on Mango Street, introduces the narrator Esperanza (her name is revealed later in the book), her family, and the living arrangements they have experienced. Finally the family, after constantly moving from various substandard living arrangements, have a house of their own, but it falls short of what Esperanza expected. The nun at the end, though not intentionally, reminds Esperanza that she is a child of poverty.

Poetry

"I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain," Dickinson, page 157

Emily Dickinson is not speaking of a physical death in this poem but rather a suffering that is intolerable.  The funeral images are in her mind, which seems to be aware not only of pain but also sounds.  Eventually she is reduce to an "Ear."  There is a falling that ends with "knowing."  Yes, this is a rather strange poem from a rather strange individual.  It begs to be interpreted. 

"Leda and the Swan," Yeats, page 163

The Irish poet William Butler Yeats borrows from the Greek myth to retell the story of Leda's rape by the god Zeus.  Zeus appears to Leda as a giant swan, and he forces himself upon the girl.  This minor masterpiece is actually a sonnet with the octave (the first eight lines) focusing of the god's violation of Leda.  The sestet (the last six lines) begins with the god's orgasm, which strangely foretells the destruction of Troy, a city favored by Zeus.  Leda takes on his "knowledge with his power."  Although not discussed in the poem, the myth continues with Leda conceiving twin girls, Clytemnestra and Helen.  The Trojan War is fought over Helen, and Clytemnestra murders her husband Agamemnon, the commander of the Greek army, upon his return from Troy.

"Birches" and "The Road Not Taken," Frost, page 164

Robert Frost is America's favorite poet because his poems conform to what  Americans think poems should look and sound like.  He often writes poems that use nature and his New England heritage.  His work is not as simple as it may appear.  In "Birches" he reflects on trees, life, and youth.  Many of you have climbed trees, swinging from the branches to the point of bending the trees. Here we have an observation of bent birches by the speaker of the poem, who may or may not be Frost himself.  He likes to think that a boy bent the trees rather than the ice storm.  He digresses with a description of the birches in an ice storm but gets back to the boy in line 21.  He thinks about the childhood joy of swinging in birches.  "So was I once myself a swinger of birches./  And so I dream of going back to be."  Most people reflect on the joys of their youth as this poem does.  To climb a tree to heaven is a temporary escape from this earth-bound existence, but in the end the earth is the "right place" for us.

"The Road Not Taken" is open to interpretation: I had a professor who said it was about death--a suicide contemplation.  I don't see that in this poem; however, that idea appears in  some of Frost's poem that you will read in lesson nine.  Roads are often symbolic choices in life. The key to the poem is at the end: "I took the one less traveled by,/ And that has made all the difference."  The narrator will reflect on his life at some point in the future and be content with the "road" he selected. As a young person did you make choices that you knew you would be happy with later in life? 

Frost reading "The Road Not Taken": http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15717 

"Myth," Rukeyser, page 491

Muriel Rukeyser plays with the Greek myth of Oedipus and the Sphinx by putting a feminist revision on the reason for Oedipus' suffering.  In this version, Oedipus is guilty of sexist language when answering the riddle rather than being fated to murder his father and marry his mother.  For many of you, this humorous piece neither looks like nor sounds like a poem.  Welcome to free verse!  Look at the time period that this poem was written; it was at the height of the modern feminist movement in this country.  Although the movement did not succeed in getting the Equal Rights Amendment passed, it did alter the use of our language, especially pronouns and how we group the sexes, a point that Rukeyser is making.

Oedipus Rex, Sophocles, page 194

Written in about 429 B.C., Oedipus Rex by Sophocles represents the epitome of Greek tragedy.  The evolution of Greek theater began about 100 years earlier when Thespis, supposedly the world's first actor, stepped apart from the chorus and recited a solo part during the spring festival honoring Dionysus (there are many variant spellings), a less than perfect god in Greek mythology.  The festival was originally religious in nature, but it grew to include the annual play competition.

The physical theater evolved along with the drama.  Some believe that Thespis may have stood on a cart to deliver his lines.  Eventually theaters were designed with the audience sitting on the hillside and the stage in front similar to our outdoor concert theaters such as the Hollywood Bowl or the Blockbuster Pavilion. The theater in Athens where Sophocles' plays were performed is the most famous of the classic theaters.  The stage had an orchestra area down front where the chorus would perform.  Behind this area was a permanent building called the skene with at least three doors.  The center door was for the palace where the protagonist would make his or her entrance.

A Greek play when performed is slightly longer than an hour; please remember this when you read the play.  Generally a Greek play will follow the three classic unities: time (the action must take place during one day), place (the play has one setting), and action (there is just one plot and no subplots).

The chorus is a vestige of the religious worship.  The chorus was the presentation in the beginning until Thespis spoke his solo lines. The Greek playwright Aeschylus added the second actor and Sophocles the third.

Aristotle says in The Poetics  that tragedy should create a catharsis, a purgation of the soul through fear and pity. This selection is in our text and is helpful in understanding the Greek concept about tragedy. See page 234. What this means is still debated, but it probably allows the spectators to release their troubles and worries through the suffering of the tragic figure.  My personal worries and troubles are nothing compared to the misery that Oedipus experiences.  Aristotle uses Oedipus Rex to explain his theory on tragedy and praises the play.

The Greek audience was familiar with the myth of Oedipus, so there was no mystery for them in the plot.  They came to hear the artistry of the language.  Presented in the open-air amphitheater with an audience of about 14,000 people, the play needed actors with strong voices behind their masks.  All parts were played by men; women were not permitted to act.

I know that some of you will find the play difficult to follow.  I don't mind if you use outside sources to help you understand the play as long as you READ the entire play.  I would check the Internet before buying the notes on the play.  Students always want to skip the chorus, which is sad because the chorus has some of the most beautiful poetry from the Golden Age.  The chorus also represents the thoughts and the feelings of the community.

Ruins of the Oracle of Delphi

Oedipus Rex presents the title character in a conflict with fate. Through the Oracle at Delphi, the king and queen of Thebes were informed that their unborn son would kill his father and marry his mother, two things that the adult Oedipus does unknowingly.  Since Oedipus lacks freewill, can he be guilty of patricide and incest?

As the play begins, Oedipus, King of Thebes, is at the height of the power, but by nightfall his life will be shattered, his past actions will be public, the queen will commit suicide, he will blind himself through self-mutilation, and he will be forced to leave Thebes by his own edict.  Some say that Oedipus is guilty of excessive pride and boastfulness. The Greeks had a word for that, and it is called hubris. 

Besides Oedipus, other major characters include his wife/mother Iocastê.  She begs her husband not to dig into the past.  Creon is Oedipus' brother-in-law and is accused by Oedipus of wanting to be king.  Teiresias is the blind seer who knows the truth about Oedipus' past.  The shepherd has a small part but is able to provide the links to the past.  The choragos, the leader of the chorus, is allowed to speak to the characters on stage.  The messengers have short parts but important speeches because the Greeks did not present killings or mutilations on stage; they had to be report.

Now get your textbook, sit back, and spend an hour or two with Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, perhaps the most important play ever written.

Here are some video selections from a new translation of the play. This British production does not use ancient costumes nor masks. These videos are an enhancement activity and are not a substitute for reading the play.

Part 1

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WtMHltBFqlo

Part 2

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OpqVmviDEvk

Part 3

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gUPuCTdGIw0&feature=related

Part 4

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-XYeuZaQg0M&feature=related

Part 5

http://youtube.com/watch?v=v3HhTJOt6DE&feature=related

Part 6

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4MOagIc20WI&feature=related

Part 7

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zmrHgStYL9w&feature=related

Part 8

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fOLmfbeACoQ&feature=related

Part 9

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ieO4DtH5L4c&feature=related

Part 10

http://youtube.com/watch?v=t0RNmFK3SRI&feature=related

Part 11

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gVCTN1YKl1g&feature=related

Part 12

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P_OLef_j4P4&feature=related

Quiz 2 

Once you have completed all the reading, please click on the link and take quiz 2. 

Discussion Questions

Please copy and paste the following questions into your word processing program on your computer.  Insert your answer directly under each question.  Please remember that this is an English class, so I will be grading your responses for content and writing mechanics.  You must write in complete sentences.  A  paragraph of about five to ten sentences for each question is sufficient as long as you are to the point and support your ideas with textual evidence.

After you have posted your answers, read the selections by the other students and respond to three of them.  Be analytical.  If you agree, state why you agree.  If you disagree, be civil and state why you disagree.

1. Select Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," Joyce's "Araby" or  Cisneros' "The House on Mango Street" to write on.  Write a short character analysis of one of the protagonists.  What is the motivation and conflict of the major character? 

2.  How has Yeats in "Leda and the Swan" used the following lines to refer to the rape of Leda by Zeus as well as the events surrounding to the fall of the city of Troy and the revenge killing of a major Greek military leader?  "A shudder in the loins engenders there/ The broken wall, the burning roof and tower/ And Agamemnon dead."  If you are not familiar with Zeus' rape of Leda, the fall of Troy, or Agamemnon's return to Clytemnestra,  do a little research on the Internet to review these myths.

3. Review Aristotle's The Poetics starting on page 242.  Aristotle states that a tragic figure undergoes a reversal of fortune and recognition.  How does this happen to Oedipus?  Find specific examples from the play and discuss.

Once you have completed your answers, please proofread carefully.  It is good to put extra spaces between each of your paragraphs, so your work isn't all jammed together when I receive it.  Copy and paste your assignment into the text box of the discussion group form. Comment on three of your classmates' postings.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED AS A GROUP.  I REFUSE TO HUNT ALL OVER THE DISCUSSION GROUP TRYING TO FIND YOUR PARAGRAPHS TO GRADE.  

This discussion group may be used only to post your discussion answers and responses to your classmates' postings--not say hi to friends or cheer for your favorite athletic team.

Click on the discussion icon below and follow the directions to post.

This concludes the "Innocence and Experience" unit in the text. 

Remember to write and submit your short story paper!