What factors shaped their choices to move? What conditions did they find in California? What does her novel suggest about the larger experience of Americans during the Great Depression?

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U. S. FROM 1865 TO PRESENT

How does Sanora Babb’s Whose Names are Unknown capture of Dust Bowl migrants?

What factors shaped their choices to move?

What conditions did they find in California?

What does her novel suggest about the larger experience of Americans during the Great Depression?

For this last part, you should draw from the Migrant Mother documentary and the primary sources from Chapter 23. This essay should be 750 words.

These are the two sources: Chapters 21-cho23 in the American yawp book

http://www.americanyawp.com/

Migrant Mother, behind the Icon

 

Discuss what forces Sundiata and the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque have to overcome and how they go about doing it. Write an essay presenting your argument. Explain the general topic and relevant themes and any relevant terms for that topic.

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Sundiata and Popul Vuh

Purpose: For this assignment, you’ll choose one of the topics below, evaluating Sundiata and Popul Vuh, and write a 6-10 paragraph essay arguing for and supporting your conclusions to submit as a well-developed essay. This assignment will build your writing, analytical, and evaluative skills.

Topic #2: Both Sundiata and Popol Vuh deal centrally with a heroic quest. Unit 1B’s introduction to the Five Great Themes of World Literature states with regard to the hero: “The surest way to understand what a culture of the past most values is to focus on what it considers heroic, in that a culture recognizes its heroes as embodying its most important ideas, the values that are essential.”

Discuss what forces Sundiata and the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque have to overcome and how they go about doing it.
For Sundiata your presentation will probably focus on Sundiata’s historical destiny; in Popol Vuh, the Twins’ quest will have a more mythic quality, but you probably will focus on the meaning for the Mayan culture of the mythic events. One of the passages you should quote (all or in part) and analyze is the following:

Hunahpú was sacrificed by Xbalanqué; one by one his arms and his legs were sliced off, his head was cut from his body and carried away; his heart was torn from his breast and thrown onto the grass. All the Lords of Xibalba were fascinated. They looked on in wonder, but really it was only the dance of one man; it was Xbalanqué. “Get up!” he said, and instantly [Hunahpú] returned to life . . . “Do the same with us! Sacrifice us!” they said. “Cut us into pieces, one by one!” Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé said to Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. . . . And so it happened that they first sacrificed the one, who was the chief and [Lord of Xibalba], the one called Hun-Camé, king of Xibalba. And when Hun-Camé was dead, they overpowered Vucub-Camé, and they did not bring either of them back to life (Part II, Ch. 13).

Second, write an essay presenting your argument. Include quotations from the texts as well as additional details that illustrate and enhance the points you are making. Use the following as an outline of what to include:

Explain the general topic and relevant themes (e.g. sacred and secular, heroes’ journeys) and any relevant terms for that topic (suggested 1-2 paragraphs). State your thesis – a general statement about your conclusions.

Apply that topic to both Sundiata and to Popul Vuh (suggested 6-8 well-developed paragraphs, plus a concluding paragraph). Give specific examples and quotes from the texts to support your analyses. Use in-text citations as needed. You may want to check the feedback from your previous assignments to make sure you improve upon your earlier efforts.
Your final page should be your Works Cited page, in MLA format.

Explain how this article relates to any issues or ideas we have been studying in the class. Discuss what are the article’s most important additions to the class’s knowledge about the subject. Give your opinion about the article’s strengths or weaknesses.

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Article Review Assignment

World Literature I
In this assignment, you will find an article (or book chapter) written by a literary critic about one of the texts we have read this semester. This assignment will help you familiarize yourself with professional writing about literature, practice sound research techniques, read analytically, and (I hope) learn a little more about a work of literature you have found intriguing.

You will do three tasks for this assignment:
(1) Locate, using the library’s resources, an article or book chapter about a literary work we have read this semester
(2) Read that article or book chapter
(3) Write an article review about it.

Guidelines for these tasks:
Find an article or book chapter
1. Find an article or book chapter about a character, historical/cultural background, or literary background from one of the texts that we have read. These are your limitations, however:
It must be something of interest to you; use this as an opportunity to explore
It cannot be information from a website
It cannot be a “book review,” that is someone writing a review of someone else’s scholarly work (that’s what you will be doing later)
It cannot be an encyclopedia article (whether online or not)
It cannot be an article from Masterplots.
You must find it using the library’s databases for articles or on-line catalogues for books. To do this, start on the MGA library home page, look under “Resources” for “Subject guides,” then choose the English subject guides and select the one for ENGL 2111 (World Literature). You will find a number of databases in which to search (under “Find Articles”). OR you may use GIL to find one of our library’s books (Under “Find Books”). Chapters from ebooks (if found through the library’s catalogue or Galileo) are OK to use, too. If you choose a book chapter, you only need to read/use one chapter (not the whole book – one chapter will be roughly the same length as an article)
You should choose an article or book chapter you can understand. If you find something that, once you start reading, sounds like gobblety-gook to you, leave it and find something else.

2. Make an electronic copy of your article or book chapter.
If you are working from a “hard copy” — that is, a physical book – scan the article or book chapter or a copy of it to make a digital file. If you need help with this, see me.
If you are using an electronic copy, use the option to download a copy or email a copy to yourself.
Being able to submit an electronic copy of your article or book chapter (in a .html, pdf, or other supported file) is part of the assignment, so this step is important.

Read the article or book chapter
This one task is exactly what it sounds like. Read carefully and see what you think of the author’s argument.

Write an article review
Follow the format given below and do all the tasks, as asked. Read the instructions carefully. They should explain everything

Submit
In the appropriate Dropbox, submit BOTH your article review AND an electronic copy of the article or book chapter you have found.

Article Review Guidelines
This assignment should be double-spaced and written in Word.
You should label each section with a bold-faced header, which should align with the left margin (not be centered).
Your review should have each of the following sections (listed in bold followed with some guidelines).
Your audience is me (of course) and your classmates. [Give your name, date, etc., as usual]

ARTICLE REVIEW
After this title and before the introduction, give the Bibliographic information about the article you have used. That is, give what would be the article’s (or book chapter’s) works cited entry. You should be sure you use MLA citation format (see resources I have given for help with this).

Hints: Be sure that, if you use a book chapter, your entry uses the “chapter from a book” format, not the format for the whole book.

Remember to use a hanging indent for this information and to be technically correct. Again, if you need help with this, see the resources I will provide.

Introduction
For the introduction, orient your reader to the article you will discuss and its main point. You can use the following format to get you started:
The article / chapter ___[title]______] by _______ in _____[journal or book title]_____discusses ________________. It uses [what kind of evidence?] to show that ______________________. The article highlights _______[1-3 sentences]_________________. It helps to show that _________________________.

IMPORTANT: Don’t forget to format the title of your article or chapter correctly (put in quotation marks). Titles of whole books or of academic journals are italicized.

Article Summary
Summarize the thesis statement and the main supporting points of the article, in no more than 1 – 2 paragraphs. Remember that a thesis isn’t a statement of the article’s topic (“Weapons in The Iliad”). It is the main point the article makes about the topic (“The weapons used in The Iliad indicate that. . . .”) To begin your summary, lead into the thesis, beginning with “This article argues that. . . . “ Then go into your summary of the article’s main points that support this position. This summary must be in your own words, although put quotation marks around any occasional sentences or lengthy phrases that might come directly from the article. Use MLA-style in-text citation within this summary you write. [Also, if the article already has a summary, an “abstract,” you may not just copy or rephrase it. You must read the article and write your own]

Critical Reflection
Write 2 – 3 paragraphs in which you:

  • (a) Explain how this article relates to any issues or ideas we have been studying in the class.
  • (b) Discuss what are the article’s most important additions to the class’s knowledge about the subject.
  • (c) Give your opinion about the article’s strengths or weaknesses.

In all cases, be sure to illustrate and support your positions.

Conclusion
In no more than 1 paragraph, remind your reader of three things (1) the main point the article makes about its topic (2) the strongest contribution this article makes to the reader’s knowledge (3) whether or not you recommend this article to classmates and why.

What did I find most surprising about this unit, and why? What aspect of the unit struck me as most meaningful, and why? What aspect of the unit was hardest for me to think about, and why?

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IIa. QUICK PERSONAL RESPONSES TO THE READINGS

Overview
You will create four informal responses (Quick Personal Responses). Each response will concern at least three of the resources assigned for the unit. Note: YOUR TEXTBOOK IS ONE RESOURCE, not three. That is, this assignment requires you to discuss the textbook and one or more other course resources, e.g., film, podcast, or video. Posts that are not built around three resources will receive a grade of zero. Cite each resource in the text, at the appropriate location, in this way: “(textbook)” [Do not provide the entire name of the textbook—simply use the word textbook], “(First four words of name of film),” or “(First four words of name of other resource).” Again, QPRs that do not reference three different resources and do not cite these resources at the appropriate locations in the text will receive a grade of zero.

General Expectations
Appropriate Format. Do not upload a post in a format that has to be downloaded in order to be accessed, as this is onerous for your readers and can cause problems if softwares are not compatible. Given that the Internet and D2L do crash, and given that D2L has been known to swallow submissions whole, never to release them from its inkless depths, you
are required to write in a word processing software and to save your post as an electronic file before copying and pasting the text (not the file itself) into the appropriate discussion forum and thread.
Posts that are permanently lost as a result of technical difficulties that is, posts that you have been written but not saved outside of D2L—cannot be graded (obviously) and thus will earn a zero. Once you have completed your post and saved it in a location outside of D2L, then copy, paste, and upload the text to the appropriate discussion thread. Attach your Self– Assessment to the same thread so that your peer reviewer can check it. Use only Microsoft Word or PDF format to save your Self–Assessment.

Specific Expectations
Each Quick Personal Response will be at least 250 words long. You will create a post describing your personal responses to the resources you have selected. The first sentence of your post will be a thesis statement/overview of what follows in the post. This sentence must pertain to each of the three required paragraphs and should stand alone in its own paragraph. Do not create a thesis that simply lists the main ideas of the three paragraphs that follow—rather, find a thread that ties these paragraphs together. This is a challenge of the assignment, and will be checking carefully to ensure that you make the effort to create a true thesis for your QPRs.

Title. A headline based on your thesis sentence that is likely to be gripping or at least very interesting to your peers.
Content. You will discuss three questions, each in its own substantive paragraph:
What did I find most surprising about this unit, and why?
What aspect of the unit struck me as most meaningful, and why?
What aspect of the unit was hardest for me to think about, and why?

Select a a novel or narrative the realism or modern era that has stirred controversy and explain at least two ways that the text has been interpreted or criticized by readers and critics.

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Select a a novel or narrative the realism or modern era that has stirred controversy and explain at least two ways that the text has been interpreted or criticized by readers and critics.

One obvious example is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), but you should select a work that interests you so that you can read the book, then the criticism, and present the arguments for or against banning or valuing this text.

USE MLA Format and write 4-5 pages with both primary sources (the text you read) and secondary sources (the critics who have praised or banned it).

Family plays a large role in the story “Pride and Prejudice” and the Bennet’s are a peculiar lot. Write a literary analysis discussing the roles of each family member and why they interact with each other and with the world the way they do. What societal pressure and personal issues create friction between the characters and their individual choices? Why would society look down on the Bennets?

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Literary Analysis –Comparison and Contrast Essays

Unit 3: Pride and Prejudice

Introduction
Unit 3 is all about the incredibly popular story, “Pride and Prejudice.” Throughout the unit, you will have read the book and completed activities making sure you are understanding what the author wrote. By the end, you should be able to compare and contrast elements of the story effectively in a literary analysis. Please find below three options for you to choose from. Which one will you choose?

Prompt #1 – “Bennet Family Dynamics”
Family plays a large role in the story “Pride and Prejudice” and the Bennet’s are a peculiar lot. Write a literary analysis discussing the roles of each family member and why they interact with each other and with the world the way they do. What societal pressure and personal issues create friction between the characters and their individual choices? Why would society look down on the Bennets?

Prompt #2 – “Who is Pride? Who is Prejudice?”
Darcy and Elizabeth have one of the greatest love stories in all of literature. Write a literary analysis essay discussing why this romance is so timeless. Which character represents pride, and which one embodies prejudice? Identify these roles by analyzing their social status, characterization, development throughout the story, and their personal struggles. How did these circumstances build enough tension to create such an enduring love story?

Prompt #3 – “Pride and Prejudice” VS. “Pride and Prejudice AND Zombies”
The film, “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” closely follows the novel. Write a literary analysis essay that discusses the similarities between the two stories and what literary elements Seth Grahame–Smith uses to create a more macabre atmosphere to tell the story of love, social class, and the role of women in the early 19th century. What results when a story of such delicate manners is told in the presence of the grotesque?

Write a 7 page paper comparing the theme of madness between Don Quixote by Cervantes and Diary of a Madman by Gogal.

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Theme of madness

Write a 7 page paper comparing (NO CONTRAST) the theme of madness between Don Quixote by Cervantes and Diary of a Madman by Gogal.

Don Quixote, (pdf attached in files)
Book 1, chapters 1-10, 18, 20;
Book 2: chapters 3, 4, 10, 54, 63.

Diary of a Madman: http://www.online-literature.com/gogol/4437/

identify the author, title, and date, genre, and form of the adaptation (the facts). Then provide the same facts for the adaptation. Develop a thesis sentence that summarizes the result of your reading/research. What do you think of the adaptation in relation to the original?

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Musical Candide

Select a work of literature from this course and examine how it had been adapted into another work of art as a film, drama, a sequel. An adptation is NOT video or film of the original, but a new work which is based on the original is a substantive way.
Examples: (Voltaire’s Candide and the Leonard Bernstein musical Candide)

Introductory paragraph:
identify the author, title, and date, genre, and form of the adaptation (the facts).
Then provide the same facts for the adaptation.
Develop a thesis sentence that summarizes the result of your reading/research.

Body paragraphs:
Show what is retained from the original (genre, setting, plot, characters, theme).
Identify what the new work has changed (genre, setting, plot, characters, theme)
Finally: How have the issues and themes changed in the adaptation?

Conclusion:
What do you think of the adaptation in relation to the original?

Explains your main point and describes the steps of your logic in reaching this conclusion; each step of your reasoning becomes a separate section of your paper, and each section compares both texts in terms of that singular idea, with evidence drawn ONLY from the texts in question, and consisting of fully explained relevant quotation, rather than paraphrase or summary.

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Jove and Europa & Apollo and Daphne

Your essay will be an argument paper, comparing any two of our texts from the first half of our reading list, and demonstrating the value of your comparison.That value could be almost anything—a question of worth (Love poem A is a better love poem than love poem B; a matter of style (ketchup imagery in play x is much clearer than ketchup imagery in play y)

Your paper MUST be organized as follows: an introduction which contains and explains your main point and describes the steps of your logic in reaching this conclusion; each step of your reasoning becomes a separate section of your paper, and each section compares both texts in terms of that singular idea, with evidence drawn ONLY from the texts in question, and consisting of fully explained relevant quotation, rather than paraphrase or summary.

Is Winston’s novels hero, by Orwells definition? Is he a hero that readers can admire and emulate? Explain your position by tracing Winston’s actions throughout the novel and considering the result of those actions.

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1984 Literary Essay: Winston Smith, Hero or Not?

PROMPT:
George Orwell once offered the definition of heroism ordinary people doing whatever they can to change social systems that do not respect human decency, even when the knowledge that they can’t possibly succeed.

In Winston Smith, the protagonist of 1984, Orwell create an ordinary person, an “everyman” Who stands for all the oppressed citizens of Oceania. Yeah, as the novel closes, Winston cries as his love for big brother overwhelms him. Is Winston’s novels hero, by Orwells definition? Is he a hero that readers can admire and emulate? Explain your position by tracing Winston’s actions throughout the novel and considering the result of those actions.