ENGLISH
20101 CRN 21599 Spring 1999
INTRODUCTION TO MODERN FICTION
ENGLISH
20101 "http://www.intranet.csupomona.edu/~tchumphrey/www/eng201sp99/calendar.html"
| Date | Week | Reading Assignment | Writing Assignment |
| 03/29 | I | 1. Please read the syllabus and explore the WEB site for the class, which contains many additional links that you should explore. 2) Please introduce yourself. Click Eng 201 Discussion List here and follow the instructions to send the class a brief autobiography (a screen or two) including the name by which you wish to be known in class, your major, e-mail addresses, personal web sites, and whatever else you would like your classmates to know about you as we get going. (Don't give your addresses or phones on the Board.) |
Story Prompt #1. Stories have their origins in many aspects of human experience. First, explore STORY ORIGINS to get some idea of what various writers have said about the origins of their stories. As we will see, Chekov and other writers whose fiction we will read this quarter had and wrote about various experiences that formed the basis for their stories. Create a list of 10 or 15 experiences, situations, events from your own life and describe several of them briefly. Try to work both with very immediate experiences as well those from your past. The idea is to develop your own short story by building it systematically with your responses to the weekly story prompts. Number the items with their descriptions and post as Story Prompt#1 to Eng 201 Student Fiction here |
03/31 |
Introduction: Fiction for Fiction Writers and Readers, 1-4 and Chekhov , "A Dead Body" and Shepherd's essay 5-15. Read FAQ (click here) |
Writing prompt #1 What are the attitudes toward death displayed by each of the three living characters? What use does Chekhov want us to make of those attitudes? Always post your response to writing prompts Eng 201 Discussion List here to share your responses with the class (and me). | |
| 04/02 | Read: Rosa , "The Third Bank of the River" 16-19 and Orth's essay, 20-24. | Writing prompt #2 . What sort of man is the son represented to be? How do we know? write and post Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 04/05 | II | Review all stories |
Story Prompt #2 Thinking about your list of personal experiences, play the "what if" game with several of them to help you move away from the prison of "it really happened." Post on the Eng 201 Student Fiction here |
| 04/07 | Read: Kafka , "A Hunger Artist" 25-31 and Huddle's essay. | Writing prompt #3 : How and why is the professional faster an "artist"? In what sort of context does he perform? What's the significance of his experience for Kafka? For you? Write and post on the Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 04/09 | Read Erdrich , "Fleur," 36-44 and Shepherd's essay. | Writing prompt #4 Analyze the role and function of Pauline. Post Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 04/12 | III. | Click on STORY PROMPTS . | Story Prompt #3 Please follow these directions exactly: 1) copy carefully in your word processor a passage from "Fleur" and one from "Dead Man" that I will post on the Board. Doing so will give you a chance to see how to transmit your character analysis in dialogue and narration. Then imitate closely--using your story situation and characters--one of the passages and post your imitation here Eng 201 Student Fiction here |
| 04/14 | Read Joyce , "Eveline" 50-52 and Orth's essay | Writing prompt #5 . What sort of woman is Eveline and how do you think you know? Post to the Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 04/16 | Read McPherson , "The Story of a Dead Man" 59-71 and Huddle's essay. | Writing prompt #6 . How do we know what we know about Billy? How accurate do you think your information is? What does your response imply about "fictional knowledge"? Allude to other stories to amplify your discussion. Post Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 04/19 | IV. | Review all stories | Story Prompt #4 Click on STORY PROMPTS . Post Eng 201 Student Fiction here |
| 04/21 | Read Hawthorne , "Wakefield" and Shepherd's essay. | Writing prompt #7. In what ways does Hawthorne characterize Wakefield as different from any other man who abandons his wife? As alike? Post Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 04/23 | Read Bambara , "My Man Bovanne" 89-97 and Huddle's essay. | Writing prompt #8 . What do the different dialects that Bambara uses in this story reveal about character and theme? Post Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 04/26 | V. | Story Prompt #5. | Click on STORY PROMPTS . Post Eng 201 Student Fiction here |
| 04/28 | Read Carver , "So Much Water So Close to Home," 98-102 and Orth's essay. | Writing prompt #9 . What do we learn about Claire and Stuart's relationship and how do we learn it? Post Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 04/30 | Read Carver , "So Much Water So Close to Home," (long version) 108-121 and Orth's essay. | Writing prompt #10. What does Carver change and why does he do it? Post Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 05/03 | VI. | Review all stories and your drafts | Story Prompt #6. Click on STORY PROMPTS . Post Eng 201 Student Fiction here |
| 05/05 | Read Alvarez , "The Kiss," 130-137 and Huddle's essay. | Writing prompt #11. How does Alvarez reveal the causes of the struggle between Papi and Sofía? What is this struggle really about? Post Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 05/07 | Read Mishima , "Swaddling Clothes," 143-146 and Orth's essay. | Writing prompt #12 . What is Mishima saying about the values of post-WWII Japan? Post Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 05/10 | VII. | 1) Review all stories. Select a scene for the scenic analysis paper. 2) Review all stories and your fiction writing. |
STUDY the details of the Analytical Paper #1 assignment . Select a scene to analyze. Post a brief description of the scene by midnight tonight, 05/10/99, to the Eng 201 Discussion List here Post a good draft of your paper by 5/12 so that members of your virtual critique group can read and comment in detail on your paper--and you on theirs. |
| 05/12 | Read Mansfield , "The Garden Party" 175-185 and Huddle's Essay | Writing prompt #13 . What is the meaning of Laura's descent from the Sheridans' garden and house down into the lanes where the Scott family lived? I encourage you to think not only in terms of the economic and social implications but also explore the mythological allusions embedded in the story (Hint: look around on the WEB for information about vegetation myths.) Post Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 05/14 | Read Carlisle, "Into The Woods," 231-236 and Hummel's essay. | Writing prompt #14. How does Carlisle characterize Joyce, shape and reveal her character and qualities and her perception of her relationship with Robbie? Post to the Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 05/17 | VIII. | Review all stories and your writing | Story Prompt #7. Click on STORY PROMPTS . Post Eng 201 Student Fiction here |
| 05/19 | Read Schwartz , "What I Did for Love" 154-167 and Orth's essay. | Writing prompt #15 . How does Schwartz structure this story in terms of plot and in terms of character? Why do you think Schwartz has so much to say about guinea pigs? Post Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 05/21 | Read Price , "A Chain of Love" 207-225 and Shepherd's essay | Writing prompt #16. How does Price characterize Rosacoke,that is, how does he shape and reveal her character with thought and action? Think seriously about some of the ways he creates her character and post your thinking Post to the Eng 201 Discussion List here Hand in a paper final draft of your analysis of a single scene of a story today in class. | |
| 05/24 | IX. | Review all stories and your drafts | Story Prompt #8. POST Eng 201 Student Fiction here |
| 05/26 | Read Hannah , "Love Too Long," and Shepherd's essay. | Writing prompt #17 . How has Hannah characterized--that is, shaped our sense of--the narrator in this story? (Avoid as always the shallow and glib response, perhaps a greater danger with this story than others.) Post Post to the Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 05/28 | Review all stories and your drafts | Story Prompt #9. Click on STORY PROMPTS . Post Eng 201 Student Fiction here | |
| 05/31 | X. | ACADEMIC HOLIDAY | |
| 06/02 | Read Huddle , "Little Sawtooth" and Huddle's and Shepherd's essays. | Writing prompt #18. How does Huddle frame the story of Michelle and why does he tell the story this way? Post to the Eng 201 Discussion List here | |
| 06/04 | Read Orth, "Handling Charges" and Orth's and Huddle's essays | Writing prompt #19. What is the significance of Tova's bearing Jeff toward the black horse? Post to the Eng 201 Discussion List here here. | |
06//07 Final exam period |
Review all of your drafts and posts and pull it all together. | Click on STORY PROMPTS . Post no later than midnight 06/07 your final revised best ever draft of your short story to the Eng 201 Student Fiction here. |
Revised 5/06/99. If you have comments or suggestions for improvement, please drop me a line at tchumphrey@csupomona.edu