Death of a Salesman

From are reading for last night, we saw that when Willy was offered a job, he would always turn offer down. Why would he do something like this when he is constantly asking for money to help pay his bills?

Cover Art

Now that we have finished the book, what do you think the picture on the cover of the book means? Who is the crying person? What does her/his face show us/tell us? What events in the story does it connect to?

Characters?

Now that the book has ended, how do you guys feel about the characters of Nick and Gatsby. Do you like them more? Do you dislike them more? Or are you indifferent?

The End

How did you guys feel about the ending. Did it work? Is it what you expected or was it completely random.

WEATHER

Do you think the weather is related to what is happening in the book (plot wise)? If so, how/WHEN?

Nick?

Did anyone else notice Nick in chapter 7 doing nothing? When Gatsby and Tom were fighting in New York City, did anyone find it strange the way Nick was described in that scene?

Racism

We all know Tom is a racist (not Tom Harrington), but is Nick a racist? Look at chapter 4. Nick mocks Meyer's appearances and accents; he mocks at the black guys when driving over the bridge. Do you think its evident enough to determine Nick as a racist?

What do you guys think it says about Nick's character that he, almost instinctively, thinks Gatsby's life story is a lie? 

The Age of Innocence

In the reading, M. Riviere comes to talk to Archer about Count Olenski's proposal for Ellen's return. Although his mission is to convince her; he, personally, believes that she should stay in America. He believes this because he thinks the American society has changed her. Is there any evidence for this? Also if Ellen has been changed why hasn't Archer given up his desire to be different?

In our most recent reading, Wharton raises the question: What makes Archer so different from Lefferts? What evidence can you find from the reading that helps answer this question?

The Age of Innocence

It is clear that Archer is not sure anymore about the marriage with May but at the same time he doesn't have the courage to leave her and to stay with Countess Olenska. Explain why Archer is attracted by the Countess Olenska and what are the reasons why he doesn't have the courage to broke up with May using specific references to the text.

Ambiguous Archer

In class the other day we discussed how Archer in one way wants to go against society and be free, and also how he also seems to like the safety of New York Society. Now that we have read farther into the book, what do you think he will choose? Will he continue on with his indecisiveness or will he make the decision to brake out of society's mold/stay in society?

Weird Em

Emily Dickinson is known for her unique style of writing poetry. Later editions of her poetry are published differently. In her original work, what do you think the capitalization in her poems? Why does she capitalize so many words, what does this add to the poem? Please use specific examples.

"Literary Nationalism"

During the early 19th century when these works were written ("Rip van Winkle" and "My Kinsman, Major Molineaux"), America was trying to establish itself as a new nation as opposed to Britain's colony. People have said that during this time, many writers exhibited "literary nationalism", whether it be through their writing as a whole or through a specific character in their writing(s). How do you think these two stories reflect this time period's struggles and/or exhibit "literary nationalism" towards America?

Who were the "real" Americans?

After reading texts from the three authors, Crevecoeur, Tocqueville and Turner, we started to notice how their views of the colonial Americans were in some places different and in some very similar.  In each text, each author describes who they believed to be "real" Americans and how these Americans emerged among Europeans.  How do Crevecoeur, Tocqueville, and Turner differ in their beliefs of who were the "real" Americans?  How were their beliefs similar?

Homer Simpson, the embodiment of Americans nowadays...

During the last few days we were reading critiques about American society during the 17th century. I want to kind of continue the  discussion from the previous week. We talked about America and its puritan traits today. Now I want you to think about the democracy and what effect had democracy on the development of American qualities. Do Americans still have the qualities of De Crevecoeur's farmer or do they have the traits of Groening's Homer Simpson?

Are we still the "shining city on the hill"?

During class we discussed Winthrop's speech "A Modell of Christian Charity", which discusses Winthrop's thoughts on why the Puritans were coming to America and the responsibilities they had in the New Land. He had specific qualities that the Puritans coming to the new land should demonstrate. Winthrop's speech and these qualities have been brought up in today's politics. If John Winthrop was alive today, what would he say about our society? Do you think he would admire the values we have or think we have corrupted our society?

Roy vs. Louis

When Roy dies, we can see that he never truly changes because he leaves us feeling hopeless about his death. Roy is the same character he was in the beginning of the play and leaves the play in a dark, twisted way by cracking a joke on Ethel. Although Roy's character doesn't develop or change, is there hope for Louis? Can Louis change his selfish, ambivalent, defensive character by the end of the play? Or will he remain abstract leaving the audience hopeless once again?

the angel's message

After reading the passage with the angel, what do you think the message that the angel wants to give to Prior or that the angel wants prior to give to others is?

Now that we're finished with Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, do you feel like you personally have a better understanding of, or insight into the lives of soldiers in the Vietnam War? Have any of your opinions about the war changed? Has O'Brien succeeded in giving his readers better understanding of the war, despite his story's fictional nature?

The Things They Carried

Today in class we discussed the meaning of what O'Brien wrote at the bottom of page 154.  O'Brien says: "That part of the story is my own".  What do you think he means by this and why?

Narrator and What He Carries

I noticed that the narrator does not mention what he carries even though he talks about what everyone else carries. Is he trying to hide something that he is carrying or is there a deeper meaning??

The Things They Carried

In "The Things They Carried", the author Tom O’Brien includes himself in the book by making himself a main character.
Why do you think he does this?

Song Of Solomon

During our discussion in class today we talked about the end of the novel. Due to the fact that the ending is left very open ended we didn't come to a conclusion. What do u think happened at the end of the story? Did milk man die? Is this what you thought was going to happen at the end? How does the ending fit with the rest of the story?

Song of Solomon

The last three sentences of chapter 12 are very significant: "He was grinning. His eyes were shining. He was as eager and happy as he had ever been in his life". Milkman seems to finally know what he is looking for: the story of his family's past. Milkman has recently changed how he views his mother, father, Pilate and Hagar, and his life in general, and seems to be considering things from a different perspective than ever before. Do you think that this change in Milkman's thinking caused him to realize what he is looking for? Did he always know that he was searching for his family history or was it covered up by his desire for the gold? Did he ever really want the gold?

Song of Solomon

In the end of chapter 9 Milkman gets confronted by Lena, and she accuses of him of turning into his father. Now that she has pointed that out are there any previous scenes that you can think of where Milkman resembles Macon and his bad qualities/traits? Do you think that it is inevitable for Milkman to turn into Macon because he hasn't been able to fly and be free? Why or why not?

Song of Solomon

In Song of Solomon, the author uses surrealist symbolism in order to convey overarching themes throughout the story(i.e ghosts and Pilate's lack of a bellybutton). What do you think the most significant symbol is, and what concept does it represent?

Song of Solomon

In class we discussed that the overall message of the book is the past and weather or not it still matters. From what we read so far have you come across any examples or indicators that the past does matter?

African Americans

Do African Americans believe in the culture from Africa yet, still today?? and why or why not? Would you follow the same traditions from your ansestors??

The Themes and Ideas of African American Poetry

As we have been discussing in class, much of the African American poetry of the early 20th century shares common themes and ideas. These include double consciousness, identity struggles, "outsiders", and African heritage, to name a few. Although the situation of African Americans has changed drastically since this time, and their rights and equality have been fully realized, many would argue that these themes and others still exist in modern culture today. If poets like Hurston and Hughes were alive in modern times, do you believe that their poems would be similar to the ones that they actually wrote? Would they be different? How so?

Death of a Salesman and Tragedy and the Common Man

Are there any comparisons between Tragedy and the Common Man and Death of a Salesman? Did you notice any similarities between the two readings? If so, what are the similarities? What does Tragedy and the Common Man show or tell us about Death of a Salesman?

which society do you prefer?

So now that we have finished reading "The Great Gatsby", which society between Archer's and Nick's do you prefer, which one would you rather live in and why?

Gatsby and Daisy

At this point in The Great Gatsby, we don't know yet if Gatsby and Daisy will end up together. We have been led to believe that Gatsby is more in love with the idea of Daisy than Daisy herself. Also on page 110, Nick describes Gatsby by saying, "He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy". It seems as if Gatsby is stuck in the past and cannot see his present situation for how it really is. He wants to go back to the time where his idea of his former self falls in love with his idea of Daisy. But many things have changed in five years, so how do you think Gatsby and Daisy's relationship will turn out based on this type of thinking?

The Great Gatsby

In chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby the reader is able to view different aspects of New York society. In what ways does this society and it's unwritten rules mirror, or appear different to those that were in The Age of Innocence? Are there still unwritten rules at all? Recall what was important to the characters in Age of Innocence and see if those aspects seem to still be important in The Great Gatsby.

Modernism

As we move from Realism to Modernism, we note a shift in an author or artists's perception. In Realism, many believed that there was only one truth or interpretation of reality. In the Modernism era, the author created their own truth through the multiple realities of everyone. Which era would you prefer to illustrate/write? Which theory of truth do you agree with? Why?

By now we have almost finished the book and have learned a lot about Archer. Do you believe that Archer has free will, or are his choices determined by society. Why or why not?