dwalker

We began by asking whether or not the rules that shape, govern, and maintain community can be broken. The answer we have landed on is yes, all the time. And so we refine our questions a little bit. What is the writer after in revealing the aftermath of the transgression? What is he/she looking to uncover about both the individual and the communities involved? It is not so much the breaking of the rule/law but its results which we are invited to explore and consider. And we discover some commonalities. Those characters whose personal identities are unclear to them or are in some sort of crisis often cross cultural boundaries, looking for answers. The community from which the character comes often has faltered or in some way failed to lead the character to a clear sense of self. The character’s own determination or conviction prevents him/her from seeing what is real. Are there other reasons for these “breaches”?

            The Turn of the Screw is a ostensibly ghost story. It is also the tale of a desperate search for identity and the transgressions that occur in that search. It is set in nineteenth century England, at a country estate called Bly. The protagonist is a young woman who has just secured employment as a governess to two orphaned children whose uncle owns the estate. Her determination to do right by the children, her rigid conviction about her purpose/place, and her absolute belief that two fiends are after her charges create powerful tension in the novel.

            As you read, please consider these questions:

• What does the prologue reveal?
• What are the connections between a repressive education and superstition?
• What are the class distinctions present in the novel?
• What part does a desire for love play in the governess’s perceptions and decision making?
• What part do ego and vanity play in the progression of the novel?
• What is real and what is imagined in this novel?
• What rule(s) does the governess break? Why? To what end? What are the results?

As you know, your assignment is to create a visual expression of your understanding the novel. Take a look.

1.      Return to the text and find a short passage (2-3 lines) that captures an essential tension in the novel. Keep your eye out for possibilities.

2.       Consider how you might depict the passage visually. Use your blog to explore at least two possibilities.
3.      Go about creating your vision.

4.      If you are feeling a little stuck, you might want to try one of these:

a.      a drawing or painting

b.      a surrealistic drawing or painting

c.       a “choreography”, a three dimensional piece that illustrates movement or tension

d.     a montage: bringing together in one composition a collection of different pictures and parts of pictures , blending or superimposing them so that, while distinct, they create a larger image. For example you might use pictures eyes to create an image of the governess. A variation of this idea might be to use words to create the image.

e.      a collage: an image composed of objects – newspaper, bits of cloth, pressed flowers, coins, letters – anything that helps you create an image of the tension in the story in which you are interested.

f.        Remember: The text you have chosen to illustrate must be included in the visual you create.

5.      A brief written explanation the process you used to create your piece – why you chose the text you did, what the image is, how and why you created it as you did, why you placed text where you did in the piece.

6.      Your piece is due Friday 10/27.

This week you will be working on your original hero story. Here is what you need to do:

1. Your first draft is due on Wednesday. In class we will work on partner conferences and discusses editing your draft.

2. Your revision is due in class on Friday, at which time I will collect it.

On Thursday and Friday we will begin our study of Of Mice and Men. You will get your book, and we will talk about the questions we will use the book to try and answer. More to follow.

There’s a lot to talk about! First of all, about your blogs. Please be patient! Edublogs is, I gather, updating. presumably to handle the volume. It appears to be the best free server space out there, and I suspect they are a tad overwhelmed. If you can’t post immediately (or save on your blog), save what you have written in word and try again later. Do keep trying. I’ll keep you posted. Remember that the content of your blogs should be exploratory. Try to keep the summarizing of plot to a minimum and go more for analysis and interpretation. Some of you are really stretching the interpretation, which is great as long as the text will support what you think. Ask whether this new idea can be sustained by the reading. If not, try again. When you read and comment, one of your considerations should be the same, does the text bear witness to the idea? If not, gently remind the writer to consider the reading more closely. Among the benefits of blogging is its assistance in returning us to the text, to read ever more closely.

So, for your next piece of writing, please choose one of the blogs you wrote for A Passage to India and revise it. The focus of this short paper is an examination of text. For example, our discussion of Ralph Moore suggests that while is like his mother, he has surpassed her understanding of tolerance and acceptance. The question is how do we know. We must go back to the narrator’s descriptions of him and his convesations with Aziz. We use the text to show what we mean. Other possibilites might be that it is in celebration of God (and therefore in community) that cultural boundaries are transcended (The Hindus understand this best). Or you might examine the idea that the transcendence is temporary. Another consideration might be the voice of the setting. So, you make your observation, talk about how you see it in the text, and make your conclusion. Any questions? I hope so!!!

There is one more consideration. Your Twelfth Night papers went a long way toward engaging the text. Nice work. Remember to stay there; don’t stray. I found myself thinking about Strunk and White’s admonition that we not make judgements. “The author’s unique ability” or “the author’s incredible use of setting” or “the writer’s amazing insight into…” are not our purview here. It is not for us to evaluate, at least in our current context. Our job is to observe, consider, and explain. I’ve been wondering too if we are supposed to judge these characters as harshly as some of us are. Orsino the hypoccrite. Olivia the shallow flirt, Malvolio, who gets what he deserves. They all feel their feelings and behave remarkably foolishly because they are in love. But we must remember that they are, after all, human. Finally, remember that Macgruder is your friend. He has the answer to almost all your practical writing questions.