Introductions; Short Stories

Readings

The Norton Introduction to Literature:

• "Fiction: Reading, Responding, Writing" pp. 12-57
• Poe, "The Cask of Amontillado" p. 107
• Melville, "Bartleby the Scrivener," p. 372
• "Critical Approaches," pp. 1228-1332

Handbook

• "Research Strategy." Section 50-55 (pp. 347-412). Information on the research process.
• "Reading and Writing about Literature." Section 56 (415-422).

Discussion 1: Summarizing Material

Provide a summary of one of the assigned stories. Make sure your summary addresses the following questions.

Setting: where and when does the story takes place?
Characterization: who are the main characters? Who is the protagonist, antagonist, supporting characters?
Narration: who is telling the story? Is it a third person omniscient narrator or is it a character narrator?
Plot: What is the central issue in the story? What is the conflict? How is it resolved?

Make sure the summary provides a topic sentence that establishes a context for your reader. Keep the summary brief - no more than 5-6 sentences. Then respond to two other students' summaries. Does it adequately address the story? Is it missing an element? Does it provide too much information that is irrelevant for a summary?

Discussion 2: What is Critical Analysis?

Literary criticism implies close reading more than evaluative judgment about a work of literature. Read in The Norton Introduction to Literature about different critical approaches in analyzing literature, pp. 1228-1332. Look up the term online and see what you can come up with as an understanding of what you are to do in writing a critical analysis of a piece of literature.

Choose one of the short stories in The Norton Introduction to Literature (other than the one by Poe or Melville) to use as a focus for answering the following questions. I will expect at least a five-six sentence paragraph for each answer to the numbered questions. Give details from the story to support your answers. Use the material in the Reader on "Writing about Literature" as you do this assignment.

1. What can you tell about the narrator in this story? What effect does this narrator have on how we understand what is happening?

2. Choose one of the main characters of this story. What can we learn about this character from the details given in the story? Does the character change from the beginning to end of the story? Is this a positive or negative character--and how do you know this from the story? Give details.

3. What role does the setting play in this story? What can you say about how it furthers the plot or the effect on the reader? What are the details that allow you to "see" one of the scenes in this story?

4. What is the conflict or tension in this story, and how is it resolved by the end? Are all the reader's questions answered or are we left wondering what happens next?