Ode on a Grecian URL

I am quite behind in grading last week's hebdomadals, although if everything goes according to plan I should be all caught up by this weekend. Then again, how often does everything really go according to plan?

Anyway, if you haven't yet heard back from me about your hebdomadal that probably means that I just haven't gotten to it yet. Feel free to ask about it anyway.

I may post a Great Expectations topic after lecture on Wednesday.

Topic 1: Beginning your essay

Because your essay will be built on ideas that come out of a close reading of the text, it makes the most sense to begin your work on this first essay by working through a nuanced, interesting close reading and analysis of an interesting passage.

Remember that a close reading is the connection of formal and rhetorical features from a short passage to one or more textual themes. In particular, you will probably want to engage with

• The form of the passage -- is it an epigram? a confession? a letter? witty dialogue? a monologue? is it neutral narration, or perhaps narration in a character's voice?
• The sorts of words used is the passage: what words repeat? what words seem like unusual choices? If you put all the principle words in this passage into a list, what would that list describe?
• Any tropes or unusual rhetorical figures in the passage -- metaphor, simile, rhyme, poetic rhythm, etc.
• The tone -- ironic? moralizing? sentimental? detached?

At the top of your hebdomadal let me know what essay topic you are tackling and roughly how you are approaching it. Then type out the passage you will be closely reading for this hebdomadal. You might notice new things in typing it out, plus this way I don't have to go flipping through my books =) Be as risky as possible in your close reading: push your ideas as far as they will go, and look particularly to offer interesting, creative readings that might not be entirely correct. (Try to replicate the sort of insight and inventiveness of Prof. Ortiz-Robles's reading of the tombstones.) Don't be afraid to be wrong! Better to be wrong in a hebdomadal than in a four-page essay.

If you want to meet with me about the first essay, shoot me an email to let me know which slot you'd like to take. If you want to change your meeting time, you're free to do that too but please give me a lot of advance notice. You're welcome just to stop by Steep & Brew during a slot that doesn't have a name by it, but that won't always work.

Please have two things ready when you come to meet with me:

1. At a minimum, have a sense of which essay topic you will be writing on and roughly how you will answer it. A draft of a thesis statement and a sense of what passages you will be closely reading would be fantastic.
2. Have two or three questions prepared to ask me -- you are in charge of this conference

All conferences are at Steep & Brew

Monday 9/25
1:30 pm - Glenn
1:45 -
2:00 -
2:15 -
2:30 - Bryan R.
2:45 - Laura G.
3:00 -
3:15 -

Tuesday 9/26
3:15 pm -
3:30 - Kelsey M.
3:45 -
4:00 -
4:15 - Ariel
4:30 -

Monday 10/2
1:30 pm - Becca
1:45 -
2:00 - Lydia
2:15 -
2:30 - Kelsey B.
2:45 - Tony
3:00 - Tim
3:15 -

Tuesday 10/3
3:15 pm - Scott
3:30 - Jane
3:45 - Jared
4:00 - Ellen
4:15 - Lindsay
4:30 -

By the way, if any of you would like a (paperback) copy of Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, shoot me an email -- if you can believe it, there are three copies of that book in my apartment.

The one-page diagnostic paper which Prof. Ortiz-Robles has mentioned in lecture is the same thing as a hebdomadal. If you did not write a hebdomadal last week, you must write one this week in order to satisfy this requirement. (If you did write a hebdomadal last week, you do not have to but are welcome to write another this week.)

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Topic 1 (Cancelled because Prof. Ortiz-Robles did exactly this in class on Wednesday)

Read the first paragraph of Great Expectations in the way Prof. Ortiz-Robles read the first paragraph of Pride and Prejudice: use intensive reading of the form, language, and implications of the first paragraph to predict the broader themes of the text.

Topic 2

Perform a bit of spatial analysis on this first section of Great Expectations: what is the geography of Pip’s hometown, and what is Dickens trying to tell us through that geography? Begin with but build on the sorts of ideas Prof. Ortiz-Robles suggested about the role of space.

Topic 3

Find a symbol shared by both Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations. How does that symbol operate differently in these two texts? What does this difference tell us about the differences between Austen's and Dickens's goals?

(Here is a quick and dirty definition of symbol: a material object that appears in the narrative – a gate, a book, a mirror – but which has meaning external to its role in the plot.)

Hi! I am going to be sitting in the Steep & Brew on State Street from 1:30 to 3:30 again this afternoon, and I am going to be bored. If you want to come chat about the hebdomadals, the reading, or anything else I would love to see you stop by.

If you're a little unsure what all this hebdomadal business is about, it might be worth looking over this exemplary meditation on the specific interest Austen has in investigating class difference written by Laura S. (313). There are a few specific features of this hebdomadal that I want to point to:

1. Its tone is exactly on target: Laura mixes personal address ("I have thus come to...") with more formal academic style ("As a reader of Pride and Prejudice, one might be outraged...")
2. The third paragraph integrates close reading with a wider argument (in paragraph 3)
3. The conclusion suggests the implications of this reading for the larger problems and central themes of the text

* * *

While reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, I have been increasingly intrigued with the class consciousness of the characters in the novel. One’s social standing and convention seem to be in the fore front of many, if not all, of the character’s minds. I have thus come to the following question: why has Austen chosen the conflict of class consciousness to focus on over the many other possible discords?

The main conclusion that I have come to in regard to this is that the conflict of upper middle class and lower middle class in the novel brings to light the biases that we all, as a society and human race, possess. Most people would like to think that they are unhindered by social prejudice, that they would love or help even society’s lowliest inhabitants. The reality is, though, that we all succumb to our prejudices at times. As a reader of Pride and Prejudice, one might be outraged by the blatant discrimination. One has to consider, though, if one would or does actually act any different. I think the beauty of this novel is that in its extreme social bias that might seem intolerable to the reader, it forces the reader to consider that we, as a society, are perhaps not any different. This, I think, is what makes the class consciousness conflict interesting; that is, that though we might
not like to acknowledge it, we are no different. Like the characters in the novel, we all fall prey to social bias.

In the beginning of the novel, Darcy is a prime example of social discrimination. While at the ball, Darcy says of Elizabeth, “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me” (7). Because Austen structured this sentence with the emphasis on “me,” the reader is able to catch a glimpse of Darcy’s bias. Because emphasis was placed on that word, Darcy is showing the reader that he sees himself as socially higher than Elizabeth, as she is not tempting to him. That is not to say that she would be an unattractive mate for another, but certainly not for a man of his stature. Also, Darcy uses the word “tolerable.” This word choice is another way he shows his discrimination. If he thought she were on his social level, he might have said, “pretty” or “attractive.” Instead, he describes her as merely “tolerable.” Basically, Darcy thinks, in fact knows, that she is not good enough for him.

As a reader, one still might be annoyed with the social prejudice and one may think, “If it were me, I would act differently.” But would one really? It is perhaps an idealized view to believe that love is not confined to social standing and convention. Though it might seem cynical and unromantic, I think we respond and adhere to social standing because it is what we know and trust. It would be easy to say that one would be willing to break all of the standards when it comes to true love. I wonder, however, if, in practice, one would actually be willing to break the “rules” and stand out in that way. There is a reason that the characters in Pride and Prejudice adhere so closely with social convention; that is, I think, that it would be damaging in one’s social and family life not to. Social convention, it seems, is almost a necessity. For example, when Lydia and Wickham run off together, the stress created in the family and their social circle is immense. So while social standing and convention seems unromantic and perhaps irrational, any breach of it creates even larger problems than before. Would we really be willing to forego all the standards ingrained in us at the risk of those around us?

To turn now from this somewhat cynical view that I have been holding, I am still left wondering that if love is not independent of social standing and convention, is there ever any way to escape our social standing? Are we doomed forevermore with the way the world sees us and with the prejudices so deeply ingrained? Can one’s attitudes be matured or is social standing a certain occurrence? Ultimately, is our fate sealed at birth with no hope of remedy? Or is it that, in the end, love is all one really needs?

(I have tried to retain the Writing Center's colors and font sizes here. I should add, in addition to their own emphatic remarks, that this class has been amazingly successful in helping my students get over the first barriers to successful literary analytical writing.)

The first of six Writing Center workshops on writing literary analysis papers begins tonight. Grab a spot and learn more about this type of writing in a comfortable, supportive atmosphere. And, did I mention, these workshops are free!

Literary Analysis: No Problem!

This two-session workshop will focus on writing a critical analysis paper for Intro to Lit. classes, including

• organizational strategies particular to papers about literature
• methods for doing a close reading
• ways to make a comparison paper seamless
• common mistakes made when writing critical analyses

Offered on these dates/times:
Thursdays, Sept. 14 & 21, 3:30-5:00 pm, Sec. 1
Tuesdays, Sept. 19 & 26, 3:30-5:00 pm, Sec. 2
Wednesdays, Sept. 20 & 27, 3:00-4:30 pm, Sec. 3
Fridays, Sept. 22 & 29, 1:30-3:00 pm, Sec. 4
Mondays, Sept. 25 & Oct. 2, 3:30-5:00 pm, Sec. 5
Thursdays, Sept. 28 & Oct. 5, 4:00-5:30 pm, Sec. 6

Please register. It's easy!
Register online 24 hours a day at www.wisc.edu/writing (click on classes), call 263-1992 when the Writing Center is open, or stop by, 6171 Helen C. White Hall.

And for those looking for someone to help critique their papers, the Writing Center offers individual conferences with experienced writing instructors. Call 263-1992 to make an appointment! Or check out the Online Writing Center for feedback about short drafts via email and live chats.

The UW-Madison Writing Center
www.wisc.edu/writing

1. Hebdomadals are due via email any time before discussion
2. Don't send your hebdomadal as an attachment; just paste it into the main text of the email
3. You shouldn't use out-of-class sources in your hebdomadal, but if you do then you must cite it . . . it doesn't matter if you are referring to the piddliest web site: I want to see a full bibliographic entry
4. If you use in-class sources -- lecture notes or ideas that come up in discussion -- you can be casual about citation; it's enough to write "Prof. Ortiz-Robles suggested X" or "In discussion, Calyn said Y"
5. The grading scheme is still in development, but I can tell that I will be grading for
   1. A creative, risky reading of the text that is supported by an
   2. Intensive, almost obsessive attention to the language and structure of the text, all of which is put together in
   3. A nicely-structured, personable argument.

More topics may be added later this week.

Topic 1: There may no such thing as a bad question, but there are certainly good questions

You'll hear me babble a few times this semester about Active Reading. An active reader engages with the text -- the text is a conversation between the author and the reader, and she participates actively in that conversation.

The distinguishing characteristic of the active reader is her aptitude at asking questions of the text. These questions dig into the subtleties of the author's intent, and they can only be answered by engaging with the text closely. Usually, the answer to one of these questions leads to more difficult and more interesting questions.

An example: Why has Austen given the Bennets five daughters and no sons? (I imagine you have begun to answer that question already, and that answer is beginning to propel you into new questions -- at least, that's what it should be doing if it is a good question and if you are an active reader.)

Ask a question that begins to dig into the social, political, or aesthetic layer of Pride and Prejudice by asking why Austen chose to structure her text in a certain way or to include certain details. Once you have laid out the question, begin to answer it in such a way as to expose other questions to which this question leads. In so doing, engage closely with a sentence or two from the text, building your analysis off of details like form (epigram, dialog, letter) or word choice -- that is to say, you should imitate the textual specificity of Prof. Ortiz-Robles's lectures as best you can.

Your hebdomadal need not have a conclusion, but should instead spiral off into a series of increasingly interesting and sophisticated questions.

Topic 2: Thematic analysis

A theme is a problem or idea that comes up repeatedly in a text. At root, themes are broad (marriage, money, religion); however, authors tend to deal with them in fairly narrow ways (the difficulty of knowing a partner's character before marriage; the uncertain relationship between wealth and marriageablitily; the role of religion in a social world).

Find a theme in Pride and Prejudice that has not been mentioned in lecture. To find a theme, you might look for a situation that comes up again and again, or you might instead look for a word or idea that comes up frequently. (There are other ways of looking and other kinds of themes, but these might be the two easiest.) Pick two specific moments in the text where this theme surfaces and, by comparing the language and form of those two moments, suggest in detail the significance of that theme for Austen. Hazard a guess at how that specific theme connects to Austen's larger point in the novel.

This is not an easy question. Don't fret if you feel unsure how to answer this -- don't hesitate to take risks, and send me an email if you have any questions.

This afternoon from 1:30 to 3:30 I will be at the Steep & Brew on State Street having a cup of coffee and hoping to see some of you guys. If you have any questions about the class or even if you just want to introduce yourself then I hope you will stop on by.

I mentioned in the previous post that there are some blog entries from last year that might be useful to you this year. There are also some useful examples and notes in the the blog for English 168 I used last semester. I've tried to group bits of advice from both these blogs together here for easy browsing.

• Hebdomadals
  
  
  
  • General notes about successful hebdomadals
    
  • Strong answers to Hebdomadal 1
    
  • Strong answers to Hebdomadal 2
    
  • A strong answer to Hebdomadal 5
    
  • Strong answers to Hebdomadal 6
    
  • Notes and a strong answer to Hebdomadal 1 (English 168)
    
  • Strong answers to Hebdomadal 3 (English 168)
    
  • Strong answers to Hebdomadal 7 (English 168)
    
  • Strong answers to Hebdomadal 9 (English 168)
    
  
  
• Essays
  
  
  
  • A strong first essay
    
  • Things that lowered essay grades
    
  • How to structure your essays
    
  • Citation and more citation
    
  • Word use
    
  • Apostrophes
    
  • Formatting
    
  
  
• Exams
  
  
  
  • Strong IDs on the midterm
    
  • Strong IDs on the final
    
  • Strong final essays
    
  • A couple strong midterm essays and one more (English 168)
    
  
  
• Other
  
  
  
  • Using dictionaries well