Rasselas 33-end

I like very much playing the "ventriloquize Melvin" game. I think we were just getting warmed up on Wednesday, so we will play it again on Friday. Please read the end of Samuel Johnson's "Rasselas," and read each other's web-log comments before you come to class. That way, you will each of you be prepared to mock me (good-naturedly...I can only cross my fingers, although over-the-top-ing is fun too).

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)


Illustrations to Rasselas (1759)

Rasselas contemplates his course of action in the Happy Valley.
(Chapter 5)


Rasselas offers assistance to the failed flier.
(Chapter 6)


Rasselas and the "Choice of Life" clique meet the hermit of the cave.
(Chapter 21)


Images taken from Eighteenth Century Collections Online (Northwestern University)

JS Le Fanu and Godfried Schalken

You may have noticed, moreso in "Green Tea" than in the other two Le Fanu stories we read this week, references to "Schalken paintings." I thought I'd post a few of them - the color schemes that Schalken uses in these paintings do, for me, anyway, really evoke the mood and tone, and even the dominant color scheme of "Green Tea," what with all the eerie backlighting that Le Fanu describes, and the red hues of things.

Second Essay Assignment

The first essay assignment asked you to examine a particular moment in your life and relate it to a broader or more universal theme. The second essay assignment asks you to turn that mode of analysis onto a piece of literature. This assignment is designed to be open-ended, to allow you to explore a theme, word (or words), phrases, characters, etc. that have been important to you in this course, and to analyze why they are important in the context of the book, or the reading, overall.

Choose from any of the stories, novels, etc. that we have read this quarter. Reexamine your web-log postings - the main purpose of these, after all, is to announce to yourselves, and to the rest of the class, what specifically you found important or significant in that day's assignment. Now comes the tough part, the "why". Why does something announce itself in your reading, to you? How does it affect the way you interpret the work of literature? Once you have selected a work, refresh yourself on its contents, and single out one or two particular facets that interest you - it can be a character, a theme, a word, a phrase (either by the narrator or one of the characters), even a specific moment in the text. Why does it strike you? Taking a few notes on this question may help you organize your ideas, even help you come up with an interpretation.

Gather from the text all the evidence - all of the moments or quotations - that relate to your selected idea. Think about how they function - what, for instance, in my comment on The Old English Baron, is the purpose of the tension between Edmund's establishing relationships with others based on his virtue, as opposed to the hint that he might be a member of the nobility? Does the novel overall suggest that the tension between feeling and social status is one that remains unresolved? Does the novel suggest that feeling is fine, but that rank, in the end, is what matters; that feeling is fine, but needs social hierarchies to legitimize it? These are just examples of questions you might try asking yourself when looking over the evidence you've compiled. Ask yourself as many questions as possible about how the specific word, phrase, scene, character, etc. relates to the work as a whole. This will eventually lead you to be able to craft a thesis - a hypothesis about why the thing you have chosen is important to the way you interpret the work.

This is an analytical paper - that is to say, a standard English paper. You will present an argument and background in the introduction, and then support your argument in the body of the essay with evidence from the text. Again, I suggest that you look at my posting to the end of The Old English Baron as a model of how to incorporate quotations from the text into your essay. Please avoid using block quotes - make the quotes you use, the evidence you've gathered, work for you. Through this essay, you are offering YOUR interpretation of a work of literature - don't worry about how I read the work, or how anybody else reads it - this is your forum to offer and to support the way that YOU read the work of literature. Do not use outside sources, like criticism, or the internet - focus on how YOU interpret the text.

For Friday, May 6th (note the change in date), bring to class with you a hard copy of your first draft. The draft can be as little as your introduction, thesis statement, and the quotations (the evidence) you've amassed for your argument. It can be as much as two pages (the introduction and the first couple of body paragraphs. It can also be a full draft. What I want is to see that you have thought through what you are writing on, and can provide enough for your revision partner to offer their criticism, advice, and so on for the next stage of the drafting process.

Here, now, is what one of my students in the past has called my "middle school" instructions on what an English essay should look like. In my opinion, it never hurts to be reminded of proper structure and content.

1. Intro Paragraph
- should include author's name and title of the work
- should include the focus of your essay - whatever theme, character, scene, etc. you've chosen to analyze
- should suggest your interpretation - for instance, in my Old English Baron posting:
"the novel suggest that feeling is fine, but that rank, in the end, is what matters."
- should contain a strong central thesis - this may use your suggestion for interpretation, and must include the "how" of your approach. For instance, in my web-log posting, I look at the exchanges between 1) Edmund and Emma and 2) Emma and William. You don't have to number them, but make it clear specifically how you will approach your argument.

2. Body Paragraphs.
- topic sentence - first sentence of each body paragraph should allude to your thesis, and announce one of the "how"s. In my example, my first topic sentence might be "A conversation between Edmund and Emma, as Edmund prepares to leave Castle Lovel, exposes Edmund's awareness that the affection they share is not enough to legitimize a romantic relationship between them."
- in the rest of the paragraph, you give evidence from that scene, and even from related parts of the novel, if you feel like they are necessary, to support that conflict between affection and a legitimate relationship.

3. Transition/Topic sentences
- in a paper like this, each part of the argument should build upon what comes before. Each subsequent topic sentence should, then relate in some way to what has just been said. After the proposed paragraph I've just shown, I might lead off the next paragraph by saying, "Emma's idealistic view of romantic possibility with Edmund is undermined in her later conversation with her brother William." Then, that paragraph goes on to explain and illuminate how, between two people of rank, the issue of rank is immediately foregrounded, and the ideal of a relationship based on simple affection, no matter how deep, is always secondary.

4. Conclusion
- first few sentences can be used to recap your argument to this point, to summarize, if you will, what you've said. Example: "Reeve's novel engages in a debate over the extent to which romantic love and class differences can coexist. Edmund's relationships to Emma and to William expose the longing for a world where social status is not as important as virtue, where affection can establish real relationships, independent of rank. All three of these characters, though, acknowledge that nobility can only love and be loved by nobility. Edmund's marriage to Emma, then, depends on his ability to prove his true social status."
- then, you must "move beyond." This is a big thing with me - everything I just said recaps the evidence I've given so far. Now, as with your first essay, you should try to make a larger, broader suggestion about what this says about the novel, or the work of literature you are examining. For example: "Reeve's novel suggests that the tension between feeling and rank is split along gender lines." I'd then go on to say, in the last few sentences, that "While Emma insists that her feelings for Edmund are based upon knowledge of his virtue and actions while he was a peasant, that Edmund and William constantly betray their certainty that despite their powerful feelings for each other, while Edmund is a peasant, he can never be on an equal footing with them. As men, William and Edmund are aware of the primacy of social status to social relations. While men, from William, to the Baron Fitz-Owen, to Lords Clifford and Graham, all the way to the King, judge and determine social status, the idealism of women like Emma can only ever be an unreachable ideal."

Something like that - this is ONLY a model, and one way to go about an analytical paper, and I don't post it to put pressure on you, only to suggest, in the clearest possible terms, the kind of thing I hope, that over the remainder of the course, that you can produce.

Illustrations to The Old English Baron

Frontispiece to the first edition ("The Champion of Virtue," 1777)
Father Oswald and Edmund meet with Margery Twyford.

• a sentimental scene
  

Frontispiece to the second edition (1778 - the one we're reading)
Richard Wenlock and Jack Markham encounter "Lord Lovel"

• a gothic scene
  

Images taken from Eighteenth Century Collections Online (Northwestern University)

William Hogarth Prints

William Hogarth - "Cunicularii, or The Wise Men of Godalming in Consultation." This depicts Hogarth's satirical take on Mary Toft "giving birth" to rabbits.


William Hogarth - "The Reward of Cruelty" - a look at the kind of anatomical theatre we spoke of this week in our section on "Murderers."

And here is a link to an exhibition that was here at Northwestern a while back. It is Hogarth's narrative of the life and short career of a prostitute. Based on the story of Sarah Pridden, whose narrative we read, it is called "The Harlot's Progress."

First Paper Assignment

Since we are in the midst of reading Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "Reveries of the Solitary Walker," our first assignment, the personal essay, will mirror our reading. On Friday, the class took a walk out into Nature. Leaving Parkes Hall, we walked toward the lake, stopping and becoming solitary at the shore of painted rocks. The first part of the assignment is to take 50 minutes and walk out into Nature - for 50 minutes, you are not to talk at all, just take with you a notepad and a writing utensil. When we are alone and left to our own devices, our thoughts will inevitably lead us into a train of associations, and even turning to focus on some particular thing of interest to us at that moment.

As you walk, stop when you need to, or find an isolated place to sit in Nature, and make notes about what you're thinking about. At the end of your time, try to select one of the themes, ideas, events or whatnot that you'd been thinking about. The second part of the assignment, and the main part, as it were, is to write out in essay form, a draft of an essay that moves from the specific to the universal. What that means is to use the thoughts specific to you that you mused on and made note of during your solitary walk, and find a way to relate it to a larger, more universal theme - much like Rousseau does in his Walks. Think of the second walk, where his incident with the dog leads to reflections on the uses of imagination. Something like that. In class, when asked, I gave the example of my perpetually dying hamster and my efforts to bring him back to life. I spoke on how this could lead to a number of different essays - on mortality, on friendship, on paying attention, on being there for one's friends, and so on.

In your draft (need be no longer than 2 pages - the final will be 4 to 4 1/2 pages, so feel free to draft longer), foreground your specific event, so that you can move seamlessly into the more general, universal implications.

This assingment requires you to spend some time alone, and quiet, and to really spend some time reflecting on yourself. As Rousseau notes, self-reflection can be painful, but can also lead us to positively assess or reassess how our little place in the world relates to our larger lives.

Syllabus, Spring 05

Tuesday, March 29 - Introduction
Homework: Read "Style," chapters 1-3

Wednesday, March 30 - Discuss "Style," chapters 1-3
Homework: Read "Style," chapters 4-6. Post a question for class discussion on the web-log. Be ready to talk and respond to my and your questions.

Friday, April 1 - Discuss "Style," chapters 4-6
Homework: Read "Style," chapters 7-10. Post a question for class discussion on the web-log. As always, be prepared to talk, ask questions, and so forth.

Monday, April 4 - Discuss "Style," chapters 7-10
Homework: Read Rousseau, "Reveries of the Solitary Walker," Walks 1-3. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Wednesday, April 6 - Discuss Rousseau, "Reveries," 1-3
Homework: Read Rousseau, "Reveries," Walks 4-6. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Friday, April 8 - Discuss Rousseau, "Reveries," 4-6
Homework: Read Rousseau, "Reveries," Walks 7-10. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.
Assignment: Will be made to-day. Begin work on First Essay Draft - should be 2 pages - just a start.

Monday, April 11 - Discuss Rousseau, "Reveries," 7-10. Bring two hard copies of your draft to class. Switch with revision partner(s). Begin making comments, suggestions for improvement on the hard copy of the draft. Sign it legibly for return on Friday.
Homework: Read Con Men and Cutpurses, Section 2, "Murderers," (pages 38-58), Mary Toft (pages 229-232), and Holmes and Williams (pages 274-276). Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Wendesday, April 13 - Discuss Con Men and Cutpurses, Section 2, "Murderers," Mary Toft, and Holmes and Williams.
Homework: Read Con Men and Cutpurses, Section 3, "Prostitutes," (pages 59-82). Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Friday, April 15 - Discuss Con Men and Cutpurses, Section 3, "Prostitutes." Bring your copy of corrected partner's draft to return to author. Schedule individual meetings with professor for Thursday, Friday (April 21, 22).
Homework: Read Con Men and Cutpurses, Section 5, "Pirates," and Section 7, "Highwaymen," (pages 123-158, 185-217). Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.
Assignment: Being revising your draft - final draft should be 4 pages.

Monday, April 18 - Discuss Con Men and Cutpurses, Section 5, "Pirates," and Section 7, "Highwaymen"
Homework: Read Mackenzie, "The Man of Feeling," 1-50. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Wednesday, April 20 - Discuss Mackenzie, "The Man of Feeling," 1-50
Homework: Read Mackenzie, "The Man of Feeling," 51-end. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Friday, April 22 - Discuss Mackenzie, "The Man of Feeling," 51-end.
Homework: Read Clara Reeve, "The Old English Baron," through "...profound silence" (45). Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Monday, April 25 - Discuss Reeve, "Old English Baron" 1-45 . First Essay due at the start of class.
Homework: Read Reeve, "Old English Baron," from "The lower rooms..." (45) through "...the penitent to proceed" (91). Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Wednesday, April 27 - Discuss Reeve, "Old English Baron," 45-91.
Homework: Read Reeve, "Old English Baron," from "My kinsman excelled me..." (91) to the end. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Friday, April 29 - Discuss Reeve, "Old English Baron," 91-end.
Homework: Read Le Fanu, "The Familiar." Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.
Assignment: Begin work on Second Essay Draft - should be 2 pages - just a start. Assignment parameters TBA. You may write on selections from Con Men and Cutpurses, Mackenzie, Reeve, or Le Fanu.

Monday, May 2 - Discuss Le Fanu, "The Familiar.
Homework: Read Le Fanu, "Mr. Justice Harbottle." Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Wednesday, May 4 - Discuss Le Fanu, "Mr. Justice Harbottle"
Homework: Read Le Fanu, "Green Tea." Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Friday, May 6 - Discuss Le Fanu, "Green Tea." Bring a hard copy of your draft to class. Switch with revision partner. Begin making comments, suggestions for improvement on the hard copy of the draft. Sign it legibly for return on Monday.Bring your copy of corrected partner's draft to return to author.
Schedule individual meetings for next week - Wed 11, Thur 12)
Homework: Read Johnson, "Rasselas," chapters 1-16. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Monday, May 9 - Discuss Johnson, "Rasselas," chapters 1-16. Return edited draft to revision partner.
Homework: Read Johnson, "Rasselas," chapters 17-33. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.
Assignment: Being revising your draft - final draft should be 4 pages.

Wednesday, May 11 - Discuss Johnson, "Rasselas," chapters 17-33
Homework: Read Johnson, "Rasselas," chapters 34-49. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Friday, May 13 - Discuss Johnson, "Rasselas," chapters 34-49.
Homework: Read Voltaire, "Candide," chapters 1-10. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Monday, May 16 - Discuss Voltaire, "Candide," chapters 1-10. Second Essay due at the start of class.
Homework: Read Voltaire, "Candide," chapters 11-20. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Wednesday, May 18 - Discuss Voltaire, "Candide," chapters 11-20
Homework: Read Voltaire, "Candide," chapters 21-30. Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.

Friday, May 20 - Discuss Voltaire, "Candide," chapters 21-30
Homework: Read Charles Lamb, "A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig" (handout) and Lamb, "Letter to Samuel Taylor Coleridge" (handout). Post a question or questions to the web-log for discussion.
Assignment: Begin work on Final Essay Draft - should be 2 pages - just a start. Assignment parameters TBA. You may write on selections from Con Men and Cutpurses, Mackenzie, Reeve, Le Fanu, Johnson, or Candide. You may not write on a text you have written on before.

Monday, May 23 - Discuss Charles Lamb, "A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig" (handout) and Lamb, "Letter to Samuel Taylor Coleridge" (handout). Bring two hard copies of your draft to class. Switch with revision partner(s). Begin making comments, suggestions for improvement on the hard copy of the draft. Sign it legibly for return on Friday.
Homework: Read Charles Lamb, either "Old and New Schoolmasters" or "Distant Correspondents" (handouts)

Wednesday, May 25 - Discuss Lamb, "Old and New Schoolmasters" and "Distant Correspondents"
Homework: Read Charles Lamb, "Confessions of a Drunkard" (handout) or "A Bachelor's Complaint of the Behaviour of Married People" (handout).

Friday, May 27 - Discuss Lamb, "Confessions of a Drunkard" (handout) and "A Bachelor's Complaint of the Behaviour of Married People." Bring your copy of corrected partner's draft to return to author. Schedule individual meetings with professor for Reading Week.
Assignment: Being revising your draft - final draft should be 4 pages. May 31-June 3 - Reading Week. Final individual meetings with professor.

Monday June 6 - Final Portfolio due. In a small binder or hole-punched folder, turn in all of your written work for the course. First Draft w/partner's correction, First graded Essay; Second Draft w/partner's correction, Second graded Essay; Third Draft w/partner's correction, Third Essay. There should also be a preface. The preface can be anything that expresses either something you've learned in the class (a kind of reflection), or be more creative - draw a picture, submit some photos, a compact disc - whatever pleases you. The preface must be turned in with the portfolio, but is not a huge deal. It should be something fun.

English 105, Section 21: Cosmopolitanism and Composition Professor: Melvin Peña email: melvin@northwestern.edu Office Hours: Wednesday, 12-1pm. Friday, 2-3pm. And by appointment Course web-site: http://pidgeonenglish.blogspot.com/ - Bookmark it, or make it your home page, because it is going to be an integral part of the course. Class meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in Parkes Hall, 222.

I. Goals
The subject of this course is reading and writing about literature. We have several goals: 1. To help you read more carefully – to enjoy whatever you are reading by finding and focusing on what interests you.
2. To help you write more clearly – to build on what is useful to a writing assignment, and to eliminate what is not.
3. To help you learn how to write and revise under pressure. I totally understand that much of what is written in college is written in haste. What we want to do in this course is to slow the process down a bit, to learn how to make a paper readable, and how to make our prose more concise and interesting.
4. To help you learn how to express yourself while attempting to meet someone else's expectations. Everything you write or turn in or perform in college is graded by someone. How do you balance your enjoyment of a given assignment or a given course while being graded for it?
5. To learn how to talk to and write about each other freely and respectfully. This course involves a number of works from the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Though they are very different from each other, they are all in some way concerned with how the author, or the main character(s) view themselves, others, and the world they live in. Like the world of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, our world is one of unbelievable commerce and travel between different lands, and exchange between cultures. By focusing on works centered on these themes, maybe we can gain a better understanding of ourselves and the world we live in.

II. Course Requirements
Attendance: Regular attendance is required. You are expected to come to class having completed the assigned reading and/or writing and prepared to discuss the texts and your own work. Absences will only be considered excusable if they are presented to me in advance. Dire illnesses will also be considered, but you must still alert me.
Assignments: You can expect to write and revise three essays during this term, as well as to participate in regular in-class writing, reflective writing, and informal writing. The three major essays will be turned in at the end of the quarter, bound together, and count toward your final grade. The final portfolio will also include a preface, as explained in the final assignment on the syllabus.
Web-log posts: Posting to the web-log is an integral part of the design of this course. Since we are in an English classroom, when you post a comment you must follow formal, standardized English grammar rules (avoid lowercase letters in place of capitals; all caps; abbreviations; and substitutions for punctuation or letters). Write in complete sentences. Support your answers with reasons, examples, and explanations.

III. Plagiarism: Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another source without giving that source credit. Writers give credit through the use of accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or end notes; a simple listing of books, articles, and websites is not sufficient. Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual robbery and will not be countenanced. Any paper verified as plagiarism will receive a failing grade, with no opportunity for revision.

IV. Grading 25% First Essay 25% Second Essay 25% Third Essay 25% Participation Participation includes, but is not limited to:
1. Talking in class. This course will be heavily discussion-oriented. You must be ready to talk about the day's reading when class begins. I fully expect that each of you will discuss the readings with the class, and to talk about your writing with each other.
2. Web-log postings.
3. Mandatory scheduled meetings with the professor.

Welcome to English 105, Spring Style

Hello all! My name is Melvin Pena. Such as I am, I am to be your professor for English 105: Cosmopolitanism and Composition. Feel free to peep around the weblog entries from last quarter to get a kind of idea for the kind of thing we'll be looking for. Starting with Friday's class, you'll be required to post a question to incite and inspire discussion and conversation.

I encourage you to look at my CTECs from the Winter Quarter. I want to make super clear, as I believe I did in the email I sent to all of you a couple of weeks ago, that if you are looking for a blowoff class, or one that conforms to your ideas of an expository writing class - you are looking under the wrong stone here.

This class is not just writing, but intensive reading, thinking, and discussing of literature from the 18th and 19th centuries. We'll be reading a number of different styles of writing - essays, novels, satires, philosophical tales, personal musings, an early gothic novel, and some later really messed up gothic stories, to name a few.

We'll be starting the quarter with three classes on Joseph William's "Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace." We will be meeting this week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday - our classroom is Parkes Hall 222. Tuesday we will be introducing ourselves, and Wednesday we'll begin our discussion of "Style." Just to give you the heads up, please read Chapters 1-3 for Wednesday's meeting. Come to class ready to ask questions and to discuss, with each other, and with me.

Texts (in the order we'll be reading them):

Joseph Williams, "Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace"
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, "Reveries of the Solitary Walker"
Lucy Moore, ed., "Con Men and Cutpurses: Scenes from the Hogarthian Underworld"
Henry Mackenzie, "The Man of Feeling"
Clara Reeve, "The Old English Baron"
Joseph Sheridan LeFanu, "In a Glass Darkly"
Samuel Johnson, "Rasselas"
Voltaire, "Candide"

There will also be hand-outs which I will photocopy when the time comes.
A fuller syllabus to follow.

The Jew in the Thorn Bush

I really enjoyed this reading, and not only because it was short! Though I did not exactly see how one could call it a fairytale ( which I usually think along the lines of Cinderella), I do like reading fiction, as I did Candide. How quick they are to make convictions is comical, death is just around the corner. Again, the stereotypes of Jewish people are highlighted, as the jew is portrayed as a money swindling thief. I don't really know how much analysis I have of this other that the assumptions that are made in the end. I think you just have to take it for what its worth.

Correspondence

I enjoyed the structure of this reading. I liked the journal entries to and from Rahel toVeit. The reader is able to see just how a person feels and or is affected by being Jewish (in this case). Rahel talks candidly about feeling inferior by being both Jewish and a woman. I thought it was interesting how she compares her Jewish birth to that of a curse/physical deformity. Some of the things she wrote in her letters led me to compare her language to that of a feminist. On page 57 she says, "A powerless being that is supposed to sit at home like this without it mattering...to stay nicely at home...and has to swallow all sorts of reproaches that are made with raisons." In this time period I know women were expected to just be housewives and not comment on situations, etc. Being Jewish may add to that in making her feel even more deprived.

"The Jews"

Religion these days is one of those touchy subjects that you try to avoid at all costs, like politics... But it seems as though in the times of this reading people were not quick to bite their toungue regarding their opinions of other religions. This reading makes a satire revolving the stereotypes of "the jews". The Baron's servant posing as a jew, with a beard to disguise him, is the one who is guilty of the Baron's assualt. After a series of interuptions, which occur throughout the dialogue thereby concealing the traveller's identity, we find out that he himself is Jewish. I enjoy reading dialogues because the reader gets to experience endless perspectives, as opposed to having one primary narrator. I thought it was clever how the author connected all the characters through the sniff box.

Mendleson Reading

The thing that struck me the most about the Mendleson reading was the tone he used. He had this facade of being polite and not wanting to engage in public controversies, but on the other hand he still managed to outright criticize the Lavater. The Lavater presented M Bonnet's book on Christianity to Mendleson in an attempt to convert him. Mendleson essentially said that his people were too good for conversions, and did not want people outside of their nation. The way he worded it was so strategic. He came off as being tolerant of religions. He then proceeded to challenge Lavater in his selection of Bonnet's book to convert him, which he did not find at all persuasive and even hardly relevant. After this direct blow on Lavater's ego, he then concluded his adress, "Your sincere admirer". This was the cherry on the sunday you could say.

Last Reading Assignments

for Friday, February 25:
Read Moses Mendelssohn, "Reply to Lavater" and Salomon Maimon, "Recollections of Mendelssohn," in The German-Jewish Dialogue.

for Monday, February 28:
Read Gotthold Lessing, The Jews, in The German-Jewish Dialogue.

for Wednesday, March 2:
Read Levin and Veit, "Correspondence," in The German-Jewish Dialogue.

for Friday, March 4:
Read The Brothers Grimm, "The Jew in the Thorn-Bush," in The German-Jewish Dialogue.

Dissertation Upon Roast Pig

I really enjoyed this reading. It was funny and completely irreverent, the kind of subject that no one particularly cares about but everyone likes to read about. I actually laughed out loud at the section about the people burning down their houses to get more roast pig because they didn't realize they could just cook them.

And, was it just me, or were the descriptions of the food at least mildly sexual? For example, the description about pineapple on page 166: "...a delight, if not sinful, yet so like to sinning...too ravishing for mortal taste...like lovers' kisses, she biteth - she is a pleasure bordering on pain from the fierceness and insanity of her relish...". I mean, seriously. The innuendo is pretty clear I think.

I also found the section about the young boy giving his aunt's cake to the beggar interesting, and reminded me of a discussion we had in psychology last year: is there such a thing as altruism, or is all philanthropy really just a selfish way to make the giver feel better? I'm thinking specifically of the quote on page 167 that says "I walked on a little, buoyed up, as one is on such occasions, with a sweet soothing of self-satisfaction."

On Love

This reading was definitely a nice change of pace- short and sweet. The author used a lot of figurative language for example "I have found my language misunderstood like one in a distant and savage land." From what I understood, he was expressing his dissapointment in the love department and that he hasn not found any one he can connect with. I enjoy creating my own interpretations on the occasional obcure phrase. He wants to find someone that he can think with, have an intellectual exchange, in his words mind children. When your alone you look for this connection in the worlds around you until you can find your "antitype"- your other half. I think that the author adds an element of fate in this. Fate is one of the main themes I found burried under all the metonymy.

the ole baron

In reading this again after clarifying the defining characteristics of Gothic literature I tried to read more closely for these themes. The ruins and the un-home continues to pervade the story. As the plot unravels we discover that Edmund is the son of the Old Baron, now merely a ghost. Their initial intuitions regarding his character were correct. This novel reads more like a mystery and I am having difficulty seeing the Gothic style in which Reeves claims her fame. We read Marry Shelley's Frankenstein in fiction who is another one of the most famous Gothic writers but I don't see any connections. I am probably biased right now because I am juggling The Old Enlish Baron and Maltise Falcon, one of the most charastic detective novels around. Regardless, This reading is definitely speeding up I just needed to warm up to her style.

Old English Baron Pg. 46-91

This second half of the reading was interesting and a little easier to understand now that we are familiar with the characters and where the plot is headed. I tried to keep in mind the characteristics of gothic literature while reading. The idea of "ruins" was evident during these chapters. Everyone thought that this was the end of Lord Lovel's family line, but it is now evident to everyone that Edmund is in fact the long lost son of the Lord and Lady Lovel and he will now become the rightful heir. I enjoyed Sir Philip Harclay coming back into the story. The other gothic literary idea of a hierarchy is somewhat not as distinguished with Harclay. He cares for the maimed war soldiers in his home and states in his will for some of his money to go to those soldiers and poor people if he dies in his fight against Walter. The idea of "unheimlich" or un-home like is seen is this section, as well with the Baron's family coming to terms with the evil that was finally uncovered in Wenlock and the ongoing battles he had with Markham-- just to name a few.

The Old English Baron

After reading the Old English Baron I realize that the one thing that attracted me the most was the authors use of dialogue. The entire narrative was a dialogue but that did not take away from the story. Clara Reeve was able to illustrate a plot without lengthy description and an intense love story begins to develope. Along with Candide and Rasseless this story illustrates allot about the importance of class in the 18th century. Is their any connection between Gothic literature and the aristocracy?

Old English Baron (Pgs. 1-45)

I had missed feelings about the reading. At some points, and I still am, confused about the characters and I found the author's diction sometimes hard to understand; but I did enjoy the section where Edmund stays in the "haunted" apartment. From the preface, I read that this is a Gothic story, but what exactly makes a story gothic? Is it just a specific time period that the story was written in, or does it contain certain elements that categorize the story as Gothic?

Bougainville's Voyage

I want to start by stating, I couldn't tell where the sections were and accidently read the whole thing. On a more analytical note, I felt the dialogue flowed well and was easy to read, even the large sections where one character had large pieces of dialogue. However, I didn't like the actual topic itself. I felt like the author was attempting to show that the native, simple culture is superior to complicated European Culture. I felt, though, that the native culture was just as hypocritical and dumb as the European one. For all of the natives "freedoms" the still had crazy rules like veils, and chains, or at least a month love affairs. Also, they said that they just wanted sex to be about reproduction, yet the men weren't to have it until they were 22. I say they only wanted reproduction, because people wore veils and were not supposed to have sex after they were barren, even if they could still enjoy it. I thought it was incredibly hypocritical that when the chaplain explained that people who had affairs during marriage were only punished by social disrespected, the native said that was silly and a sign of weakness ont he part of the law. However! The native explained that disrespecting their own sexual laws were only punished by social disapproval, unless it was an underage girl who got the honor of being locked in a room. On a similar note, the native's use of logic and attacks on European morality would be far from his comprehension, especially since earlier the two commentors had explained that the natives could barely communicate their ideas. I just felt the narrative was flawed and the topic was hypocritical in itself, unless I totally missed the point and both cultures were supposed to be bad. I just didn't get that feeling.

end of Candide

In the end of Candide, the main character encounters more people who lead him to question Pangloss' optimism, notably Martin. In looking back, thinking about the paper, I couldn't help but notice that he targeted women. He continually portrayed women in a negative light: the women who played "dirty tricks" on them, Pacquette the prostitute. Women were only good for one thing- sex. Count Pococurante was "getting tired" of his two maidens. In the end Candide confesses that he did not even wish to marry Cunegonde who had become horribly ugly. This is also on top of the stereotypical portrayal of the Jews in the novel, starting with Daniel in the begginning. Should this blatant display of discrimination be taken offensively or does it add to the tongue in cheek tone of the story?

Candide 20 - end

After reading the whole book, I really liked it, but there's almost too much to comment on. I thought this passage on page 140 kind of summed up the whole novel in a way:
"I should like to know which is the worst, to be ravished a hundred times by negro pirates, to have one buttock cut off, to run the gauntlet of a Bulgar regiment, to be whipped and hanged at an auto-da-fe, to be dissected, to row in the galleys - in fact, to experience all the miseries through which we have passed - or just to stay here with nothing to do?"
I just thought it was interesting that they were questioning whether it was all worth it just to end up on a farm with little more than they started out with and just tend to the garden. I also loved that Pangloss came back finally and that he was still saying that everything was going to turn out okay, even though he hardly believed it himself anymore.
Voltaire definitely had a lot of social commentary going on in the last parts of the book too, but I thought the part that stood out the most in my mind was the fact that once Candide found out that Cunegonde was ugly now, he didn't even want to marry her anymore but was doing so just to spite her brother. I think there was a lot of tongue-and-cheek commentary going on in this last section. There was so much going on in the last ten chapters of this book, so I'm interested to see what everyone else has to say about it.

Candide 11-20

I think Voltaire's writing, much like Johnson's, is a happy medium between blutness (e.g. Boswell) and wordiness (e.g. Rowlandson and Byrd). This style would be perfect for our essays because, while there is much detail present, it is not excessively descriptive.

Candide 1-10

This reading was more enjoyable for me than the story of Rasselass. While this to portrayed the dark side of human nature, Voltaire's satirical tone provides comic relief. While Rasselass went out into the world to find happiness, Candide's venture proves against his teacher's belief that we live in the "best of all possible worlds." His teacher is one of the most interesting characters, telling dying victims that the earth quake was for the best. His arguments in defense of his optimism are so far fetched, trying to explain that syphillis is good because it can be traced back to the people who discovered the Americas which brought things like chocolate. These connections are very humorous, I enjoy Voltaire's "tounge-in-cheek" attitude. I wonder what Voltaire's view on religion is. He seems to have an anti-semmetic attitude, as Cunejonde's owner embodies the stereotypes of the jews.

Rasselas Chapter 33-End

I believe that the ending of Johnson's History of Rasselas is a fitting conclusion for the narrative. The History of Rasselas deals with the prince and princess's struggle to find happiness and his choice of life. In the scene from the catacombs, the group discovers the shortness of life and the need to use it efficiently. I find the last chapter to be the most interesting. Nekayah states that the choice of life is not of importance, but rather the choice of eternity. This correlates directly to the princess's future desire to find a college for women to spread wisdom to the young, the future generations. The idea to spread knowledge is something that can last for eternity, beyond the years of her own lifetime. A question that I am still asking myself is if Rasselas' desire to govern a kingdom is fitting to his importance of the choice of life, or is he just trying to duplicate the Happly Valley but without boundaries.

rasseless 17-33

Rasseless continued his quest for happiness in these chapters. To better his search, he split the observation with his sister, the character whom I found most interesting. Her views on the family were so dark. She described the home as it were a battlefield rather than a refuge, children constantly battling to win their parents love. I thought this section was very depressing. You can not find happiness in solitude or in the company of your own blood. So where look next?

Rasselas Ch. 17-33

I enjoyed this Rasselas reading as much as the first part. Since our discussion on Wednesday, I was able to focus in on some of those aspects we talked about and find examples of them in the text. For example, I saw many more instances where we see Rasselas's true motives for going on this journey. At the beginning of this section, Rasselas enjoys a lecturer's speech so much that he pays him in gold coins so that the lecturer will teach him his doctorines. After doing so, Rasselas wishes to imitate his life and preach as the lecturer had. It is evident that Rasselas does not wish to truly help people, but rather look like the hero and gain peoples' attention, even if that is gained through false means.
I found some of the ideas in this section interesting, such as, when the princess talks about poverty being concealed in the large cities and the feuds between parents and children. There is no love between them - only competition. Also, the idea of marriage as a mode of misery was interesting. They talked about marriage being hasty in young couples, therefore leading to misery. This idea could parallel that of the characters leaving the happy valley hastily, leading to their dissatisfied findings of the real world.
The imagery of the pyramids stuck with me as well.

Rasseless

This reading was a change from the Byrd and Rowlandson readings, although it is seeming to become much like a travel narrative as the story proceeds. I found, so far, that the the story of Rasseless has in many ways parrelleled that of the historical Buddha and his great escape. The Buddha was the son of a king, and he was also held captive in a luxurious palace so that he might one day become emperor. Also, Ilmac talks of Rasseless making his "choice of life" which is much like the Buddha's search for the path to enlightement. Aside from that I think this story really raises the question of what determines ones happiness. Is money enough? The writing is also very visual and I think that is another reason why I was more drawn to this text.
Perris Richter

Rasselas Ch. 1-16

I enjoyed this story MUCH more than Byrd. The whole idea of one character wishing to look outside the box and WANTING to submerge himself into the real world, outside the "happy valley" was interesting to me. He's going against the grain and wanting to find meaning for his life. The idea of the iron gates Rasselas is trying to escape from seem to almost represent the gates of heaven and he's wishing to leave this utopian society in order to see the miseries of the world.
The language was much easier to understand and I enjoyed the poet, Imlac's philosophical quotes on human life. They are quotes that I seem to have heard similarly one time or another.
Much of the story can be applied to human life today, such as, thinking some people have it much better than you do or that some people seem to be so happy in their day to day existence. Underneath, however, that may not be true. Even if one seems to have it all, that does not guarantee their happiness. Sometimes you must endure the bad in order to be grateful and happy for the good that you have.

my essay

This summer I was invited to spend the weekend at my boyfriend’s lakehouse in Vermont. I liked feeling spontaneous and independent. After all, I had just turned 18 and was quite anxious to respond to my parent’s hesitations by saying, “Now, I am an adult, I can do what I want.” I was looking forward to getting away for just three days. Relaxing and napping lay in my near future. Oh, the romance.
I got back from work on Friday afternoon, packed my bags and said my goodbyes… Mom returned from her errands but I was still there. Stewart made his galliant arrival shortly after. And so I said my goodbyes again and set off on my romantic getaway. In other words, he was late. But to no avail, I was a grown woman and had learned to deal with these trivial inconveniences of life. How dare I ask for an apology! He was amazing, hardly perfect may I add, but who is. He was taking me to his summerhouse in Vermont and I didn’t even have to pay for gas! I got in the car, bit my toungue, and took a short nap. When I awoke, we were in Vermont. It was beautiful. The mountains were high enough to puncture the few clouds in the sky. At that moment he touched my hand and said sorry. In an instant I forgave him. I forgot about the hour which I had spent waiting at my door, looking out for his car, with a melancholy expression plastered on my face, the time wasted which I could have spent that watching re-runs of Saved by the Bell. It was as if he was up to bat with one strike and then he hit a home run! Stewart was back in the game, and I was ready to have three days of peaceful bliss.
The next morning I awoke around eleven. When I opened the shades I saw Stewart mowing the lawn. I went down stairs and there was eggs and bacon on the table! I don’t eat red meat and that I certainly wouldn’t dream of eating those chicken abortions, I thought he knew that? It’s the thought that counts! So I wasn’t exactly fine dining but who cares? I had a boyfriend who mowed lawns!
We spent the next few days taking walks around the lake, exploring the old farm town, and swimming in the evening. We picked our own snap peas at this quaint little farm alongside the road. The next night we bought chicken breast and attempted to grill outside. It was the best blackened chicken I had ever tasted.
The Vermont sky was unlike anything you have ever seen. You could see shooting stars every minute. The lights of New York City did not pollute the skies as they did in my hometown. As I looked at the stars on my last night I thought to myself, I had a great time, but I’m ready to go home.
It was an early start the next morning. There were five hours of open road ahead of us but I was only a short nap away from home. When we got into the car he stared blankly at the steering wheel. He waited a few seconds to reach a dramatic climax before asking if I could drive… He was tired. It took me nearly five minutes to back out of his driveway. I had never driven such a beast. His Dispatch CD caused him to drift slowly to sleep while it caused me to be driven slowly insane. We had listened to his music all weekend, granted I didn’t bring any of my own, but how much “chill” music can one take. The scenery, which was once beautiful, looked horrendous. The surrounding mountains were now contributing to my claustrophobia. As I looked over to Stewart, his head nodding up and down, my foot pressed harder against the ignition. I wanted to be home!
When he awoke, he offered to drive, with a half an hour left. He could read me like a book, I hated that, and he knew I was annoyed. Five minutes later he pulled over to an ice cream parlor, and said, “Ice cream, my treat!” It was as if he had one strike but than hit a home run.

Byrd reading

Although this may be inconcievable to some, I found the Byrd readings even more painful than the Mary Rowlandson's narrative. Because I had fallen sick last week, and was forced to read it in its entirty in one seating, I tried to ease my pain by taking your advice and finding something enjoyable in it. One thing I did find entertaining was his rather sarcastic comments, namely those regarding Firebrand. And while I did find it redundant introducing every character that crossed his path, there was the occasional character that I found intersting such as Epaphraditous Bainton (128) who "pretends to skill in the virtues of many plants." I liked that he did not go into as much detail with religion as Mary Rowlandson. When he did he covered the fascinating religion of Ned Bearskin, their resident indian who spoke of a hell where "the women are old and ugly arm'd with sharp claws like a panther." An overall boring narrative with the occasional hidden treasure.

Rough Draft #1 (be nice)

DeMarus Allen
Roommate Camaraderie

“What the fuck” he said while sitting on the top bunk with his girlfriend. To best understand this story we must go deeper. One of the most exciting and worrisome time in my college application process is not worrying about whether or not I would get into Northwestern, but where I would live. For months I pain over which dorm I would pick to live in and what order they would be placed on a list from one to five. The day we received our housing contracts is a day I will not forget. I opened my email waited patiently as my computer load and I found out that I was in Shepard Residential College. My heart sunk because Shepard was number two on my list and I was rejected from Willard, my “dream dorm”

On the housing contract was the name of my soon to be roommate Christopher Michael Warren. After recovering from my rejection, I began to wonder about Christopher Michael Warren. I thought, where’s he from, is he republican? Two weeks before school started I received and email from Chris telling me about how he is from Rockford Il, a dairy farmer and a far left liberal that sleeps with the fan on. After the email followed a series of late night phone calls in which we decided on how to arrange our room, what to bring etc. But most importantly we talked about alcohol and sexiling, maybe it’s the republican in me (I am a far left liberal so there’s very little) but I have a very low tolerance for excessive alcohol use and my roommate having sex at my expense.

The week before moving into my dorm and new student week, I attended a program called FUP (Freshman Urban Program) where I met Chelsea Slaven, Chris’s future girlfriend. She was the sweetest person I met in a long time, naïve, devoted catholic, short and spunky. I can honestly say she was one of the people that I admired the best and aspired to be like. The first day of school I introduced Chelsea to my dairy-farming roommate Chris Warren. Unfortunately for me they hit it off right way and on the second day of new student week they became an item. At first I was ok with it, and I thought they were such a wonderful couple and some of the nicest people that I had ever met, until I found a retainer on my bed.

With each romantic relationship comes sexual attraction, and for two extremely repressed teenagers who away from home for the first time, sex is a newfound pleasure.

The night I had found the retainer on my bed I had seen Chelsea and Chris making out on my bed a few hours before. When I walked in on them I was ready to go to bed, but when I walked in Chelsea. “You don’t mind us on your bed do you? I love you’re jersey sheets” my reply was in a very sarcastic manner, “I don’t mind as long as you don’t cum on the sheets,” I slammed the door and went back downstairs to practice. When I returned two hours later I was happy to see that they were no longer on my bed, but in place of the couple was a pink dental retainer. I almost threw up.

The next day I confronted Chris about this “little” incident he said that he was extremely sorry and that it would never happen again. However that was just the beginning of sexiling that would begin, but we’re going to skip this and get straight to the juicy part of this story.

“Ahh” I heard Chelsea moan in ecstasy. Immediately I woke up and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Earlier that night I told Chris not to have anyone over and try not to make so much noise because I had a final in the morning, he said ok, and I went to bed. When I looked at the clock I saw that it was 3 a.m. and on the couch directly across from me on the couch was Chris and Chelsea doing the “monkey dance.” So I began to move around in my bed to make my presence known, but they still didn’t get picture.

In anger and rage I shouted, “It’s three fucking a.m. and I have a final in the morning.”
Chelsea responded, “I am sorry we thought you were.”
I said. “I was until you moaned.”
And final Chris chimed in and said, “You’re usually out like a light!”
Even more upset I screamed, “ So you did this more than once.”
Embarrassed Chelsea grabbed random items of clothing and ran out of the room.

Once again I had a conversation with Chris about respect but with the RA. But for some reason it didn’t click with him, so he continued to bring his girlfriend for late love sessions. And my search for a new roommate.

After a long ordeal with housing I finally was able to get a new roommate. One would think that switching rooms would be an easy process, for some reason Northwestern University makes it a long drawn out process for no apparent reason, complete with searches interviews so and on and so forth. Nonetheless, at the end of this ordeal I was able to get a new roommate.

While I was still living with Chris he seemed do go from bad to worse, which brings us to the beginning of the story. On the night before I completely moved out my roommate said to me. “When are you moving out of MY room, because you need to be out by tonight.” See it wouldn’t be bad if I hadn’t just got back from rehearsal, it wasn’t 1 in the morning, or the fact that I was moving out because of his sex life. But when he when he said “my room” something inside of me began to rumble like mount vasubeus. Instead of responding to him I continue to do my homework and pretend as if he weren’t there. And then Chelsea came in the room.

Chris then stripped down to his boxers and climbed onto his bed. After turning off the lights Chelsea daintily made her up the ladder to the top bunk. Meanwhile I was doing my homework and need the light that she had just turned off. Carefully I searched around my room to find my water pitcher. Before you judge me, I have one thing to say, “Those without sin cast the first stone.” Without either of them noticing I left the room and went to the bathroom to fill my pitcher up with ice cold water. Then I went to my room and sat at my desk and waited for my time to strike. Meanwhile our neighbor was playing Aretha Franklin’s 60’s hit “Respect,” which pretty much inspired my next action.

Without notice I rose from my desk and collected all my valuable collections left in the room (i.e. my clarinet case and laptop) and the pitcher of water. I am not really sure what happened next but all I remember is Chris screaming “What the fuck” while he and Chelsea sat on the bed soaking wet.

Rough Draft #1, Captivity Narratives

THE CAPTIVITY OF SARA SCHMIDT

One month left of my senior year at St. Viator High School, 2001, and I became ill. The highly contagious sickness Mononucleosis, more popularly known as Mono, captivated my body for the final twenty-eight days of my high school career. Wrecking havoc through my system, Mono first took its toll on my throat. My glands swelled, creating lumps on the outer surface of my neck, thus making it extremely difficult to breathe or speak. I was sent home from school with a sore throat, unknown of the road ahead, and upon arrival crashed on my living room sofa. Little did I know that this would become my camping ground for the next month.
On the night of my first day home, I awoke with tears because the swelling in my throat had enlarged making it virtually impossible to breath. From the inside, my throat looked like two moldy strawberries, irritated and filled with puss. I was taken to the hospital at 11:00 P.M., where I received blood and urine tests, and returned home at 2:00 A.M. with the conclusion that my senior year was now complete. No more school. No more soccer games. And sadly, no more going out with my friends on the weekends.
I slept until early evening of the next day, finding it extremely difficult to even move myself from the couch to use the washroom. My body was drained and my throat was still swollen. From the previous night, my doctor prescribed me steroids, apparently they are used on patients to reduce swelling, and along with a handy glass of water my steroid usage had begun. My mother layer the living room couch with old sheets, appointed me my own glass for drinking, and removed my toothbrush from the others. I think she was more worried about preventing my germs from infecting my brothers, than actually understanding how miserable I felt. I took my place on the couch and watched television reruns until I could not help but dose off to sleep again. That day I had managed to keep my eyes open for a successful three hours and then back to dreamland my body forced me to go.
No food in my body and too weak to walk around, I sat alone in my designated space on the living room couch. My mother, beginning now to see the true toll this sickness was taking on my body, insisted that I go to my family pediatrician for more advice. Slowly, my mother escorted me to the car like I was now a baby again and drove me to yet another doctor’s appointment. I earnestly tried to keep my eyes open for the entire length of the car ride and least not forget the hour and a half long doctor visit. My doctor instructed me to lie down on the mat as he examined my throat, under my arms, and he even pushed down on a very sensitive area near my stomach. I think I was too delirious to question the reasons for such touching, but I soon came to understand that all the glands in my body were being attacked by this illness creating them to swell. My spleen was enlarged and I would have to be extra careful to make sure that it did not erupt. No more physical activities until I was better, meaning I could not participate at the state finals with my high school soccer team. I left the doctor’s office felling worse than I did coming in, his remedy for a speedy recovery was to rest and wait for my body’s defenses to attack the Mono when it was ready.
Resting and waiting is exactly what I did. A full week had past and the steroids must have finally kicked in to reduce some of the swelling in my throat, so that I was able to eat my first liquid meal. I remember slurping down a cup of chicken noodle soup and feeling the warmth slide between my swollen glands. Compared to before I fell ill, my diet had now completely transformed making it noticeable that I was losing weight. I was rarely hungry, and foods that I once loved, apples, cereal, and sandwiches, seemed impossible to eat. My previously well-defined muscles from weeks of soccer training were now deteriorating and it was a challenge for me to walk up and down stairs. My friends visited me after school and my family was supportive, showing their sympathy with flowers and stuffed animals. Envious of their strength and normality of their everyday routine, I sat listless on my couch with barely enough energy to stay awake for an entire day.
On the twelfth day with Mono, I had completed my full dosage of prescripted steroids and had another doctor’s visit awaiting me. More blood tests. The blood tests were used to check my white blood cell count to see how my body’s immune system was responding to being ill. If my count was close to normal, I would be able to attend school again. I knew that I would not be physically better for awhile, but I thought of my friends sitting around the lunch table and of graduation. I would graduate from high school in less than two weeks, and here I was having my blood drawn for the third time. And to ruin my situation even more, my white blood cell count reported below normal and I would need more medication. I returned home full of dejected emotions. My world was held captive by my illness, and all I had was a stack of rented DVDs and black-and-blue bruises on my inner elbow where I had been struck with doctor’s needles.
On that following Monday, the twentieth day, I started to view my illness in a more beneficial manner. School would be over in a week and final examinations would then follow. One by one, my high school teachers phoned my house expressing their wishes that I get better soon, and as a get well surprise excused me from each exam I was scheduled to take. I had traded days of endless studying for ones full of Sex in the City episodes and MTV marathons. A trade I deemed sufficient, seeing that I knew my friends would now be jealous of me. The next day brought yet another surprise that I will never forget. The phone rang, my mother answered, and then handed the phone to me. It was my principal from St. Viator and he wanted to speak to me. I thought it was awfully nice of him to call and wish me good health, but I quickly discover he had another announcement in mind. He told me that I was the salutatorian for the Class of 2003 and would be required to give a speech to my fellow classmates on graduation. I was shocked, and for that moment it seemed like my illness had disappeared as my mouth curved upward to smile. I could not remember the last time I had smiled in the past three weeks, and now any trace of melancholy I had was overwhelmed with achievement and satisfaction. I hung up the phone and shared the news with my mother. We celebrated with popsicles, and I was convinced that I would not let Mono ruin my senior year.
During the third week of being ill and stuck at home, I used my free time, between naps and television breaks, to begin thinking about my speech.

William Byrd II, 1st Half

While it took me a few pages to get used to the language, I think the fundamental style of this piece is very innovative. I especially enjoyed the journal format. Will you please teach us the "do"s and "don't"s of this technique, Melvin? (Time permitting, of course.)

response to Boswell bio

Unlike Mary Rowlanson's narrative, James Boswell used very simple sentence structure. Although his words were not as compelling, his use of short sentences and repitition made this reading very clear. His subject was always identified and then repeated over and over ( "She made no difficulty of granting me all. She was a subtle philosopher. She said...") He did break some of the rules of style, using redundant modifiers, "whole of eternity", "state of terror", "age of eight." But despite these crimes in style, James Boswell conveyed his message with clarity. This passage was not as interesting for me as the captivity narrative, but like his sentences it was short so not that painful a read.

Boswell and Mary Rowlandson

I found both of these readings to be interesting but very different as well. As far as substance goes, I felt a greater connection to Boswell and his views on religion. I am not a religious person myself, so it was easier to read about a man that changed his mind about religion often as opposed to a woman that blindly followed her religion. It was tedious reading Rowlandson's narrative because after almost every paragraph, she seemed to say something like "my child just died, but it's okay, because God loves me" or "the Native Americans killed half of my family, but it's fine, because look at this Bible passage." I find it hard to believe that she did not question her faith even once, or that if she did she just did not admit it. Boswell's narrative was more believable because things that he did not even understand had him question his faith, which was refreshing to hear.

In regards to the actual writing and style, I again liked Boswell's style better because it was more organized and simpler. Boswell wrote with short, direct sentences, while Rowlandson wrote in long and confusing prose. I do not know if I missed an explanation in the introduction, but did Rowlandson write the narrative while she was in captivity, or did she write it after she got home? If she was in captivity, I could understand why it seemed so unorganized and rambling. If not, then I think that Boswell's writing was just much easier to read and I finally realized what Williams had been pointing out in Style about sophisticated writing being more than long sentences. However, I do see that Boswell could have used some more varied sentences because almost every single one was short; a few sentences of a different sort of style would have made the reading more interesting.

Class Tuesday, 7pm Hagstrum Room and Syllabus Corrections

Hello everyone,

As we discussed on Friday, we will be having class (discussing Boswell handout and Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative) on Tuesday, January 18, at 7:00pm. We will meet in the Hagstrum Room, 201 University Hall. See you all there!

New - Note these Corrections to the syllabus for the next couple of weeks.

Week 3: Writing a Captivity Narrative, Reading a Travel Narrative
Monday, January 17
Discuss Boswell handout and Rowlandson, "Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson"
Homework: Begin writing a two- to three-page first draft of a captivity narrative, based upon your own experience. Post it to the web-log and bring two printed copies to class on Friday.
(Times New Roman, 12pt., double-spaced, 1-inch margins.)

Wednesday, January 19
Continue discussion of Rowlandson, and addressing questions about the first assignment.
Establish revision groups for weekend revisions.
Homework: Read first half of Byrd, Secret History. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log.

Friday, January 21
Bring first draft of Captivity essay to class (2 copies) to exchange with revision partners.
Discuss Byrd, Secret History
Schedule individual meetings for next Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Homework: Each student must post comments, corrections, advice to each of their revising partners' work to the web-log, as well as on the printed copies to return to their authors.
Read second half of Byrd, Secret History. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log.

Week 4: Searching for Happiness in Other Lands
Monday, January 24
Discuss Byrd, Secret History
Homework: Read Johnson, Rasselas, chapters 1-16
Begin revising your captivity narrative according to your partners' suggestions. Final draft should be 4 - 4 1/2 pages long.

Wednesday, January 26
Discuss Johnson, Rasselas
Homework: Read Johnson, Rasselas, chapters 17-33. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log. What particular theme, image, character, etc. interests you most and why?
Continue Revisions - discuss in individual meetings with professor.

Friday, January 28
Discuss Johnson, Rasselas
Homework: Read Johnson, Rasselas, chapters 34-49. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log. Have your interests changed? Have you noticed more of what interests you?
Make final revisions to your captivity narrative.

Week 5: The Search Continues, and Writing a Persuasive Essay
First Paper due at the beginning of class on Monday.

8-end comment

For the first time, I am able to say that I can agree with Strong. Coordinating sentences is a way for you to achieve clarity without sacrificing style. Cutting out "redundant modifiers" and "meaningless words" can take away your voice. However, using parrallel sentence structure and coordinating elements (shorter to loger) gives you enough freedom to be eloquent while maintaining clarity.

Style: Chapters 8-End

Please post your questions for Wednesday discussion here. Post questions from here on out, if possible, so that I know what your needs are and can organize what we can discuss beforehand. Remember to post by midnight the night before class, so that everyone has time to read through them before we meet. Try not only to come up with a question, but to begin thinking about an answer, or examples (page numbers) of things you want to start to address the questions with.

This is a discussion-based seminar class, and will become much more so when we start in on the literature on Friday. Participating, particularly in class, is a big requirement of the course. Everyone is expected to bring something to the table. I want everyone to feel free to speak in the classroom, to ask whatever kinds of questions, or raise whatever kind of issues you want to in relation to the day's readings. The more you talk, the more you are going to get out of it. Taking the initiative in discussion can only improve the overall experience for everybody. Thanks!

Click on "comments" directly below this post. For future reference, to start a new thread for the next class, follow these steps.

1. go to the course web-log: http://pidgeonenglish.blogspot.com
2. In the top left corner, click on the "Blogger" icon.
3. If you are not already logged in, it will ask you to do so.
4. Click on the green "+" icon, which is labeled "New Post".
5. Write your posting.

Style: Chapters 5-7

The tables in the "Here's the Point" summaries confuse me; may we discuss them in class tomorrow? Otherwise, I think Williams makes his ideas clear and thus helpful.

Room Change! Parkes 222

Hey everyone! We have a new classroom now. Starting to-morrow, Monday, January 9, we will be meeting in Parkes 222. Parkes is the building right next to the church on Chicago Ave (where Chicago and Sheridan split). It is my favorite room to teach, so I'm psyched that they gave it to us.

Style: Chapters 1-4

Hey everyone - it was great to meet all of you to-day. Post your comments, questions, etc. for discussion on Friday in the comments section of this post. From now on, will whoever makes the first comment do what I'm doing now, and create a new post, and everyone else leave their postings in the comment section of it? Thanks!

Syllabus

English 105, Section 21: Cosmopolitanism and Composition
Professor: Melvin Peña email: melvin@northwestern.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday, 12-1pm. Friday, 2-3pm. And by appointment

Course web-site: http://pidgeonenglish.blogspot.com/ - Bookmark it, or make it your home page, because it is going to be an integral part of the course.
Class meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 11:00 - 11:50 in the Library, room 4770


I. Goals
The subject of this course is reading and writing about literature. We have several goals:
1. To help you read more carefully – to enjoy whatever you are reading by finding and focusing on what interests you.
2. To help you write more clearly – to build on what is useful to a writing assignment, and to eliminate what is not.
3. To help you learn how to write and revise under pressure. I totally understand that much of what is written in college is written in haste. What we want to do in this course is to slow the process down a bit, to learn how to make a paper readable, and how to make our prose more concise and interesting.
4. To help you learn how to express yourself while attempting to meet someone else's expectations. Everything you write or turn in or perform in college is graded by someone. How do you balance your enjoyment of a given assignment or a given course while being graded for it?
5. To learn how to talk to and write about each other freely and respectfully. This course involves a number of works from the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Though they are very different from each other, they are all in some way concerned with how the author, or the main character(s) view themselves, others, and the world they live in. Like the world of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, our world is one of unbelievable commerce and travel between different lands, and exchange between cultures. By focusing on works centered on these themes, maybe we can gain a better understanding of ourselves and the world we live in.

II. Course Requirements
Attendance: Regular attendance is required. You are expected to come to class having completed the assigned reading and/or writing and prepared to discuss the texts and your own work. Absences will only be considered excusable if they are presented to me in advance. Dire illnesses will also be considered, but you must still alert me.
Assignments: You can expect to write and revise three essays during this term, as well as to participate in regular in-class writing, reflective writing, and informal writing. These three essays will be turned in at the end of the quarter, bound together, and count toward your final grade. The final portfolio will also include a 2 page Introduction, in which you reflect on what you have learned about writing, reading, and other themes of the course.
Web-log posts: Posting to the web-log is an integral part of the design of this course. Since we are in an English classroom, when you post a comment you must follow formal, standardized English grammar rules (avoid lowercase letters in place of capitals; all caps; abbreviations; and substitutions for punctuation or letters). Write in complete sentences. Support your answers with reasons, examples, and explanations.

III. Plagiarism:
Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another source without giving that source credit. Writers give credit through the use of accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or end notes; a simple listing of books, articles, and websites is not sufficient. Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual robbery and will not be countenanced. Any paper verified as plagiarism will receive a failing grade, with no opportunity for revision.

IV. Grading
25% First Essay
25% Second Essay
25% Third Essay
25% Participation

Participation includes, but is not limited to:
1. Talking in class. This course will be heavily discussion-oriented. You must be ready to talk about the day's reading when class begins. I fully expect that each of you will discuss the readings with the class, and to talk about your writing with each other.
2. Web-log postings.
3. Mandatory scheduled meetings with me (weeks 4 and 7).
4. The test on Style (beginning of week 2).

Required texts:
*"Sketch of the Early Life of James Boswell, Written by Himself for Jean-Jacques Rousseau," by James Boswell
*"Supplement to the Voyage of Bougainville," by Denis Diderot
Rasselas, by Samuel Johnson
Colonial American Travel Narratives, ed. Wendy Martin
The Old English Baron, by Clara Reeve
The German-Jewish Dialogue, ed. Ritchie Robertson
Candide, by Voltaire

Secondary Material

Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace, by Joseph Williams

All texts (except where indicated by *) are available at the Northwestern University bookstore at Norris.
Texts marked with * will be photocopied and handed out in class.


Course Schedule
Week 1: Basics of Style
Wednesday, January 5
Introductions, Syllabus
Homework: Read Style, Chapters 1-4 (pp 1-53)
Comment on parts of the reading that interested or intrigued you. Post comments and questions on class web-log for Wednesday discussion.

Friday, January 7
Discuss Style
Homework: Read Style, Chapters 5-7 (pp 54-90)
Comment on parts of the reading that interested or intrigued you. Post comments and questions on class web-log for discussion.

Week 2: Style and the Captivity Narrative
Monday, Jan. 10
Discuss Style
Homework: Read Style, Chapters 8-10 (pp 91-146)
Post questions on class web-log for discussion. Attempt to answer questions that your colleagues have posted in preparation for the test.

Wednesday, January 12
Test on Style (entire book)
Discuss Style
Homework: Read Boswell handout. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log.

Friday January 14
Discuss Boswell, "Sketch of the Early Life...Written by Himself"
Homework: Read Rowlandson, "Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson," in Colonial American Travel Narratives.
Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log.

Week 3: Writing a Captivity Narrative, Reading a Travel Narrative
Monday, January 17
Discuss Rowlandson, "Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson"
Homework: Write a two- to three-page first draft of a captivity narrative, based upon your own experience. Post it to the web-log. Bring two printed copies to class on Monday.
(Times New Roman, 12pt., double-spaced, 1-inch margins.)

Wednesday, January 19
Setting up revision groups; Pairing off within groups for first revision.
Discussing the experience of writing your narratives.
Homework: Each student must post comments, corrections, advice to one of their revising partners' work.
Read first half of Byrd, Secret History. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log.

Friday, January 21
Discuss Byrd, Secret History
Homework: Schedule individual meetings for Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Revise your captivity narrative according to your partners' suggestions. Final draft should be 4 - 4 1/2 pages long.
Post comments, corrections, advice to the other partner's work.
Read second half of Byrd, Secret History. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log.

Week 4: Searching for Happiness in Other Lands
Monday, January 24
Discuss Byrd, Secret History
Homework: Read Johnson, Rasselas, chapters 1-16

Wednesday, January 26
No class
Homework: Read Johnson, Rasselas, chapters 17-33. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log. What particular theme, image, character, etc. interests you most and why?

Friday, January 28
Discuss Johnson, Rasselas
Homework: Read Johnson, Rasselas, chapters 34-49. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log. Have your interests changed? Have you noticed more of what interests you?
Make final revisions to your captivity narrative.

Week 5: The Search Continues, and Writing a Persuasive Essay
First Paper due at the beginning of class on Monday.
Monday, January 31
Discuss Johnson, Rasselas
Homework: Read Voltaire, Candide, chapters 1-10

Wednesday, February 2
What is a persuasive essay? What does it look like? What are its component parts?
Discuss Voltaire, Candide
Homework: Read Voltaire, Candide, chapters 11-20. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log. What particular theme, image, character, etc. interests you most and why?

Friday, February 4
Discuss Voltaire, Candide
Homework: Read Voltaire, Candide, chapters 21-30. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log. Have your interests changed? Have you noticed more of what interested you originally?
Begin draft of second paper. Write on either or both Candide and Rasselas. Come up with a topic based on whatever particular facet of the work(s) you found most interesting.
Draft should be 2-3 pages long. Focus on introduction, thesis. Post it to the web-log, and bring two printed copies to class on Monday. Switch revision partners.
Possible starting points (in case you cannot think of one):
• The teacher-student relationship
• Where is "home?"
• Relating to the "other" - "other" refers to one of a different nationality, ethnicity, religious group, etc - one that is different in some recognizable way from the self, or of how the self conceives of itself.
• The uses of money
• Differences between traveling and wandering

Week 6: "Going Native" and Revising
Monday, February 7
Discuss Voltaire, Candide
In-class reading through revision partners' essay.
Homework: Read Diderot, "Supplement"
Each student must post comments, corrections, advice done in class.

Wednesday, February 9
Discuss revising – how to read, how to critique others' work.
Homework: Read Diderot, "Supplement"
Each student must post comments, corrections, advice to other partner's work.

Friday, February 11
Discuss Diderot, "Supplement"
Schedule individual meetings for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Homework: Read Reeve, The Old English Baron, through "...profound silence" (45).
Revise your captivity narrative according to your partners' suggestions. Final draft should be 4 - 4 1/2 pages long.

Week 7: Where, or, What in the world is Home?
Monday, February 14
No class
Homework: Read Reeve, The Old English Baron, from "The lower rooms..." (45) through "...the penitent to proceed" (91). Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log. What particular theme, image, character, etc. interests you most and why?

Wednesday, February 16
Discuss The Old English Baron
Homework: Read Reeve, The Old English Baron, from "My kinsman excelled me..." (91) to the end. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log. Have your interests changed? Have you noticed more of what interested you originally?

Friday, February 18
Discuss The Old English Baron
Homework: Make final revisions to your second paper.
Read Mendelssohn, "Reply to Lavater," in The German-Jewish Dialogue. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log.

Week 8: Talking and Writing About Each Other
Second Paper due at the beginning of class on Monday.
Monday, February 21
Discuss Mendelssohn, "Reply to Lavater"
Homework: Read Lessing, The Jews, in The German-Jewish Dialogue. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log. What particular theme, image, character, etc. interests you most and why?

Wednesday, February 23
Discuss Lessing, The Jews
Homework: Read Levin and Veit, "Correspondence," in The German-Jewish Dialogue. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log.

Friday, February 25
Discuss Levin and Veit, "Correspondence"
Homework: Final Paper Assignment: To be announced.
Begin draft of second paper. Write on any work or pair of works from the syllabus that you have not written on previously. Come up with a topic based on whatever particular facet of the work(s) you found most interesting.
Draft should be 3-4 pages long. Focus on developing a cohesive argument. Post it to the web-log, and bring two printed copies to class on Monday. Switch revision partners.

Week 9: How Does Literature Affect the Way We Look at Each Other?
Monday, February 28
In-class reading through revision partners' essay.
Homework: Each student must post comments, corrections, advice done in class.

Wednesday, March 2
Discussing final revisions.
Homework: Each student must post comments, corrections, advice to other partner's work.
Read The Brothers Grimm, "The Jew in the Thorn-Bush" and Börne and Heine, "On Shylock," in The German-Jewish Dialogue. Post questions/comments for discussion on the web-log.

Friday, March 4, Last Class Meeting
Wrapping up.
Scheduled individual conferences for Reading Week.

Reading Week:
Individual Conferences

Finals Week:
Writing Portfolio, including Final Paper, due Monday, March 14, by 4:30 pm.
Final Paper should be 4-5 pages long.
All three papers should be bound and turned in at the English department front desk, 215 University Hall.