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Please copy the link below. It gets you to the Information source to complete this assignment: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7700/7700-h/7700-h.htm English 2800: Great Works of World Literature I Final Project 5-6 pages (double-spaced) Due: Wednesday, 5/12 at midnight via BB SafeAssign under Course Documents, before Wednesday becomes Thursday. Please note that I cannot accept late work as I must submit your grades by the College’s deadline. If you want to volunteer a draft for our in-class draft workshop, please email me the writing that you’d like to share before class. You’ll earn extra credit towards class participation. Please remember that you must submit your papers via Blackboard’s SafeAssign--to submit your paper, click the SafeAssign essay link on BB under Course Documents and you will be prompted to upload your paper. I absolutely do not accept hard copies, papers submitted through email, pdfs or Pages—I only accept Word docs. If you submit your paper any of these ways, I will not grade it. I also will not email you telling you that I won’t grade it. You are responsible for properly submitting your paper through Blackboard and you are responsible for submitting the correct paper through Blackboard. If you submit the wrong paper or a corrupted document that does not open, that is the paper I am grading. BB gives you multiple attempts to submit your paper and you can review the document that you are submitting so that you know you are submitting the correct document. You may only write about texts from the second half of our course—from Lysistrata onward. You may not use any secondary sources; the essay should be you closely analyzing and in dialogue with the literature, not book-report-Wikipedia-factoids. If you do not follow these guidelines, you’ll earn a zero on the essay. If you do not submit 4 full pages, meeting the base-level requirement, then you will earn a zero. Regardless of your topic or text(s), work towards developing an original idea that moves beyond what we have said in class--there should be some tension in your ideas! Provoke. Put forth an argument that a reasonable person could reasonably argue against. Our class discussions can influence your argument, but a strong essay should also say something new about the text. In other words, you want to use this assignment to showcase your own ability to think critically and imaginatively about our texts. Simply put, don’t be boring because you aren’t. The goal is to develop a coherent and clear argument supported by specific textual examples and analysis. Be sure to have a thesis/main idea/main argument: What is your main point and why should your audience care? Say why your argument matters. Your main point should be clearly articulated by the end of the first or second paragraph of the paper. Stay away from clichés, opinions and platitudes (avoid the “Hallmark card” thesis). Some questions to keep in mind: Did you teach the audience something new? Did you approach the issue from a fresh angle that in turn generated new insights? Do not give me a book report and do not let your voice take a back seat to the texts. Above all, be creative. 1. This semester we’ve talked a lot about what makes a “great work” or what renders a song, painting, story, sculpture, film, poem, photograph or tv show a “masterpiece.” For this option, define your criteria for a great work or, given our discussion of aesthetics, what is a masterpiece for you? Then, using your definition of a great work as a frame, argue how one text from the second half of our course is indeed a masterpiece, drawing on specific examples (through direct quotation and paraphrase) that support your argument for greatness. Some questions to keep in mind: are your criteria in keeping with western standards of “beauty”? How might (or might not) your identity and experience inform what a masterpiece is to you? Do you think people hundreds of years from now will still consider your chosen text a masterpiece? “Anyone who’s a chef, who loves food, ultimately knows all that matters: Is it good? Does it give pleasure?”— Anthony Bourdain (RIP) 2. Create a meme for two of the texts that we’ve read in the second part of our course: one meme per text, two memes and two texts in total. Next, make an argument for how your meme speaks to the main idea(s) in your chosen text, supported by specific examples (direct quotations and paraphrase) that you analyze in relation to the meme that you created. For each meme/text, be sure to write two double-spaced pages, four in total for this option. Along with an analysis of the literary texts, be sure to analyze the memes that you made as well, paying attention to how their formal elements (color palette; composition; foreground; background; text; presence of figures, etc.) represent important aspects of your texts. What story do your memes tell? What might your memes reveal about the literature? one text=one meme=two-double-spaced pages of analysis one text=one meme=two double-spaced pages of analysis in total=two memes, two texts, four double-spaced pages of analysis You may curate your themes and written analysis any way that you see fit. This is the question that you should write about 3. In the spirit of literature modeling different ways to live a life, create an advice column centered on any topic. Then write two letters from two different characters that we encountered in the second half of our course describing a problem that each is having that is in keeping with the theme of your advice column. Last, write a substantial response to each character wherein you give them advice. Although unconventional, this assignment still requires that you draw on cited textual evidence that you analyze to support your ideas. It also requires that each letter, along with your responses, have a clearly stated main point (aka thesis). Page Breakdown: Introduction to your advice column, explaining who you are and the kind of advice that you give (and why one should trust you): about half a page, double-spaced. Letter from character #1: about half a page, double-spaced. Your response to character #1: one to two double-spaced pages Letter from character #2: about half a page, double-spaced. Your response to character #2: one to two double-spaced pages in total=5-6 pages, double-spaced Please Check out the sample esssay that I submitted. It helps you a lot with your writing Or if you want you can write about the same Topic answering the Question 4 instead of question 3!!! 4. Choose one of your forum postings from the second part of the course, any posting from Lysistrata onward. Develop your posting into a longer, coherent essay with an original and clearly articulated thesis/main argument supported by important direct quotations that you fully analyze in support of your ideas (5-6 pages, double-spaced). 5. In the spirit of the Canterbury Tales, specifically the Wife of Bath’s Prologue, write your own prologue, introducing yourself. Be sure to write at least four double-spaced pages and connect your prologue to at least one text we’ve read in the second half of the course, drawing on cited, rich quotations, a text that serves as your inspiration for narrativizing your own experiences. *As always, you may craft your own assignment but run it by me first (email is fine).If you have any questions about the assignment or would like feedback on your draft, email me, bring a draft to class, make an appointment at the Writing Center, consult our paper revision checklist, MLA worksheet and DCM list of what we value in writing (all posted on Blackboard). Remember that papers must be double-spaced with 12-point font and 1-inch margins and titled with pages numbered. Give your paper an original title that speaks to your thesis/main point. Lauren Schneider ENG 2150 Monday Wednesday 10:20 Dr. Pasquesi November 11, 2014 Embrace Weirdness Dear Olivia, You are one of my best friends, and I love spending time with you, but now that we are in college there are certain life changes you may want to consider. You are a very cautious person, which is typically a good thing. I, too, am often cautious and I think it is easy to say that being cautious is both smart and responsible. However, there are times when it is better to "let loose" and not dwell too intensely on the choices you make. You tend not to take risks, but sometimes it is worth it. It could be very good for you to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while. Just because something may make you feel uncomfortable, doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. College is the time for us to have fun and explore; it is the time to allow changes and grow. We no longer have parents constantly looking after us and telling us what to do. Try something new, and if it feels a little weird, just go with it. You never know how rewarding it will be in the end. I recommend you read the fictional short stories “Fatso” and “Adults Alone.” In both stories, the characters go along with something that feels weird at the beginning, and works out in the end. In Etgar Keret’s short story “Fatso,” the narrator’s girlfriend’s night transformation to a fat, hairy man makes the narrator uncomfortable at the beginning. Although he tells his girlfriend that he would still love her, it says, “This new twist has you worried, it really does, but you have 1 no idea what to do about it.” (Keret 1) The “twist” the narrator is referring to is his pretty girlfriend’s transformation to Fatso, the pinky ring-wearing fat guy sitting on his couch watching soccer and requesting meat and other fattening foods. The fact that he is worried shows that he is very uncomfortable with the situation. He doesn’t know what to do, because on the one hand, he told his girlfriend he would love her not matter what - and truly meant that - but on the other hand, he is uncomfortable and has no experience in dealing with Fatso. Once Fatso gets his steak and all the other fattening foods he wanted, the narrator has the chance to get rid of him, but instead allows himself to experience this uncomfortable situation. Keret writes, “On the way back you ask him where to let him off, and he pretends not to hear you but he looks despondent. So you wind up taking him back home with you.” (1) The narrator hints to Fatso that he wants to get rid of him, and just lets Fatso get away with ignoring him. At this point in the story, the narrator had the chance to be more aggressive and get rid of Fatso, but instead, he ends up bringing Fatso back home with him. This is the point at which the narrator decides to embrace something that feels a little weird and just go with it. Taking risks and embracing uncomfortable feelings ended up being a positive experience for the narrator. The narrator’s love for his girlfriend only grows, and surprisingly, his bond with Fatso does too. Fatso exposes the narrator to the best bars and restaurants that the narrator never would have gone to. (Keret 1) The narrator also develops a love for soccer from watching with Fatso. (Keret 1) Fatso helps the narrator experience things he loves, that he never would have been exposed to had he not welcomed Fatso into his life. His life is great because he has a pretty 2 girlfriend who he loves and wants to have a baby with, and at the same time he has an exciting friend to have fun with at night. This weird experience works out for the narrator in the end. By embracing and accepting his girlfriend’s weird Fatso identity, he gets the best of both worlds: a pretty girlfriend by day and a best friend at night. Through “Fatso,” Keret is trying to send messages to the reader. He is saying that in any relationship, physical appearances aren’t everything. If your partner, or someone you care about, opens up about a weird part of his/herself, don’t immediately ditch the relationship because your partner no longer fits the fantasy you had of him or her. It is worth it to go along with it and try to accept it. You may find that this weird quirk is not so bad, or like the narrator in “Fatso,” you may find that going along with this weird aspect of the relationship enhances your relationship in the end. In A.M. Homes’ “Adults Alone,” Elaine encounters a weird situation when she does crack with her husband, Paul. When they are about to smoke the crack it says, “Elaine begins to get nervous. It’s too exciting. She can’t believe they’re actually doing it. It’s so not like them, not the way anyone would expect them to be.” (Homes 28-29) There are many reasons Elaine can’t believe they are doing this. Paul and Elaine do not do fun and spontaneous things together anymore. Elaine also rarely does anything exciting or anything that would be wrong for a mother to do. When it talks about what they are expected to be, it is referring to the fact that they seem like typical parents, who now live in Westchester where everyone is perfect and 3 follows the rules. No one would ever smoke crack in Westchester, especially since it is illegal. Elaine’s main priority in life has always been her children. It is clear that Elaine is stepping outside of her comfort zone, and it makes a lot of sense that this makes her nervous or uncomfortable. She knows smoking crack with Paul is going to be weird, and she does it anyways. Elaine ends up enjoying the sensation she feels from the crack. She feel like the fountain in front of the Plaza Hotel and like a Roman candle. (Homes 29) The fountain outside the Plaza Hotel is big and beautiful. While Elaine is on crack, she is confident and views herself as beautiful. The Plaza Hotel is an elegant and classy place, which is how she suddenly views herself. The fountain also represents Manhattan, where Elaine was happy before she moved to the suburbs. A Roman candle, also beautiful, is a candle from which sparks of fire burst out. Most Roman candles come with a warning label because of their danger. While Elaine feels classy and elegant, she feels risky and dangerous at the same time. The water bursting out of the fountain and the sparks bursting out of the candle symbolize that Elaine cannot contain these amazing feelings inside of her. As a mother, who is always working to please her family, she is finally free to let loose and let all the things that hold her back burst out of her. The water from the fountain is cold and the candle burns extremely hot. This is symbolic to her of the sensation of feeling both hot and cold. Smoking crack, Elaine experiences wonderful feelings she normally would not feel. Crack makes Elaine more positive and appreciative and makes her see the world from a brighter perspective. Homes says, “And so she does one more, and it is good again, and the living room looks so nice and their halogen lights are so bright and modern.” (30) Before Elaine 4 smoked the crack, she was very unsatisfied with her house. Paul had changed a light bulb earlier in the story and Elaine hadn’t cared, but now that she's high, she appreciates the bright lights. Homes mentions that the last time she was happy with the house, was the day before they moved in (16). The more crack she smokes, the more she comes to see her home’s beauty and appreciate it. Elaine acts more confidently after she smokes crack. She eats a ton of ice cream and stands naked in the kitchen. (Homes 29-31) Normally, Elaine hates food, however while on crack, she eats a lot. She usually is not happy with her body, however, while she's high, as mentioned earlier with the fountain and the Roman candle, she thinks she is beautiful. Only people who are confident with their bodies would walk around naked. Even when she has ice cream all over her face, she remains confident with the way she looks. By going with the weird and unlikely experience of smoking crack, Elaine is able to appreciate both food and her body. Etgar Keret’s “Fatso” and A.M. Homes’ “Adults Alone” teach a similar lesson. Although the storylines are very different, both are short stories that show that when a person is encountered with something that feels strange at the beginning, it is good to just go with it, because it can actually end up being a rewarding experience. In “Fatso,” Keret proves this with relationships. When the narrator realizes that his girlfriend has something strange about her, that doesn’t exactly fit his fantasy of her, he decides to continue giving their relationship a chance. He shows that when a loved one has a flaw, do not just give up on the relationship. The narrator embraces this weird side to his girlfriend and finds it very rewarding, because by accepting her, he gets to stay with the woman he loves and get a new best guy friend. In “Adults Alone,” 5 Homes uses drugs to prove that a weird experience can actually be good in the end. Elaine, a typical suburban mother finds that the weird activity for a parent of smoking crack is all that she needs to feel good while she is alone with her husband in their house. Through relationships and drugs, Keret and Homes, respectively, prove that strange or uncomfortable situations can lead to great things. The idea of allowing oneself to feel and go along with something weird sometimes, does work out. This can be applied to something as simple as trying a new, interesting food. Many times, the foods that look strange end up being delicious. It can also be true for friendships and relationships. Just because someone may be strange and make you feel uncomfortable, it may not be a bad thing to spend time with that person. I am not denying that trying weird things cannot be dangerous. Elaine and Paul easily could have died from an overdose or been arrested for using crack. However, sometimes, it is worth trying strange things in spite of the risks. In college, you have the opportunity to try new and weird things. Go out of your comfort zone and embrace the weird experiences. Just because the idea of something, like drinking, makes you uncomfortable, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. You are nineteen years old, and alcohol has never touched your lips. Although it is scary to lose some self-control and let loose, getting drunk can help you have fun. Try it, and if it makes you feel weird, that probably means it’s working. This is also true for drugs. They can be very dangerous, and although I do not do drugs, it can be worth experimenting. You are very cautious about the men you date because you do not want to have your heart broken. If you think someone is “not your type,” still go on a date with him. Even if you think he is weird at the start, he could actually be the perfect guy for you. You can even try going out with a woman or someone of a different race. You are 6 a terrific student and always take classes in which you are interested and know you will perform well. One of the great things about college is the wide variety of classes offered. Take an offbeat class in a subject you have never prior learned much about. You might discover your true passion. Whatever the situation might be, if it is outside your comfort zone, do not just stop and leave. Feeling weird or uncomfortable is not always a bad thing. Embrace discomfort more often, and just go with it. Fondly, Lauren Schneider 7 Tiffany Ibanez English 2100-HTRC Dr. Pasquesi 11/02/15 Experimentation! Fun For All Ages! Experimentation is something that is acceptable up until a certain age. As a child you are still figuring out your body’s functions, what feels good and what doesn’t. You might have done things that seem embarrassing now that was merely a curiosity at that age. When you are a preteen crawling towards teenage years you are faced with the fact that your body is changing. Your hormones are raging and rubbing one out every night was a strict routine. You might have freaked yourself out by being turned on by some weird porn video you found on the Internet. On top of sexual exploration, you’ve probably experimented with drugs and drinking. You might have taken a swig of a beer at a family barbeque, taken a drag of a cigarette with your friend in the alley of the bodega you bought it from or maybe puff, puff passed a joint between you and a couple of kids at a house party. All of the stupid stuff you did as a kid was totally acceptable but you’re an adult now and life is really boring. You aren’t allowed to try new things because that’s not what’s expected of you. You are meant to be one way and to stay that way until you die. You want to be like Elaine from A.M. Homes’ “Adults Alone” and the boy from “A Real Doll”. Elaine and the boy represent the idea that experimentation is to be done regardless of a person’s age. Elaine from “Adults Alone” hates herself, her husband and her life in Westchester. What she does to spice up her mundane life is smoke crack with her husband Paul. In “A Real 1 Doll”, a boy begins to date his younger sisters Barbie but soon realizes that Barbie isn’t the one for him and begins to date Ken. Although these are two very different characters, they are also very similar. They are doing things that they aren’t “supposed” to be doing. But, they are going through a journey of self-exploration whether it be trying an edgy drug or testing the boundaries of their sexuality. In Homes’ “Adults Alone” Elaine hates her life in Westchester and she realizes this when her children are away with their grandmother. Elaine has lost the spark in her life. She hates herself and her body. “She has circles and bags and all kinds of things around her eyes. Last week she spent forty dollars on lotion to cover it up” (Homes, 17). We can see that Elaine is seeing herself getting older and she hates it. She notices all of her imperfections and hides them under “forty dollar lotion”. Homes’ also makes it clear that Elaine hates to eat and can’t bring herself to enjoy a meal in the kitchen. At this point in her life Elaine needs something to remember to love herself again and smoking crack does just that for her. “Elaine has the sensation of being in a fountain. She herself is the fountain in front of the Plaza Hotel. Sparks pour out of her and bounce across the floor before dying out. She is a Roman candle” Homes writes and this is the turning point of the story (29). Elaine is not just the wife and mother living in Westchester, but she is just as brimming with energy as the water fountain and as dangerous as the Roman candle. Like the water in the fountain, Elaine is contained in a small space, but still ever flowing with energy. She is contained in Westchester but is still searching for something more. The Roman candle represents the edge of trying crack. The crack is lit and sparks something inside of Elaine that explodes into new sensations and then fades away until a new vile is lit again. Experimenting with crack is something that isn’t expected of a wife in the 2 suburbs, but is an important experience for Elaine. Through this, she is able to eat ice cream in the kitchen without any clothes on and explains it as feeling “like velvet down her throat” (Homes, 29). She is finally comfortable enough in her skin to be in her house naked and to eat in the kitchen. These are things that Elaine would have refused to do before she smoked crack. Elaine is the perfect representation that anyone can experiment with new things at any age. She is trying something new just as the boy in “A Real Doll” is. In “A Real Doll” a boy is dating his younger sisters Barbie to “practice for the future” (Homes, 151). This boy is using his sisters Barbie doll to simulate what it would be like to date a real girl. During this time he gets to know Barbie, has sex with her and even buys her a gift. The boy says, “I’m falling in love in a way that had nothing to do with love” (Homes, 153). The boy isn’t in love with Barbie, but with the mere idea of dating someone. He has Barbie with him and is chatting her up, but he doesn’t necessarily care about what she says. He’s in this for the experience of dating someone. Throughout the story, the boy will mention Ken. He will talk about how Ken reacts when he’s picking up Barbie for their date and he’ll ask Barbie about him. We can see that Ken is important in this boy’s dating life. Having sex with Barbie is one of the worst. He explains it as, “the worst experience” he’s ever had (Homes, 161). We can assume that it was the worst experience because of the fact that he came on a Barbie doll, but that’s not the case. The reasoning behind it is that he has no attraction to Barbie at all. While fucking a girl is what’s expected of the boy, its what he is into and comes back disappointed. The boy is doing all of these things like courting Barbie, because it is what is expected of boys to do for girls. The boy begins to realize that Barbie isn’t the one for him, but maybe someone else is. The boy goes to pick up Barbie for a date and sees that Barbie and Ken’s heads have been 3 switched off. The boy describes this as “looking at Ken in a new way” (Homes, 197). We can see that the boy has always had something sparking between him and Ken. The boy likes Ken so much that he has sex with him and then performs a thorough cleaning for him that he hasn’t done for Barbie. The boy says that he likes to hang out with Ken a bit better than with Barbie because the can talk about boy things. This boy is experimenting beyond the limits of his sexuality. He is experimenting with what some might call a strange method, but with one that is helpful for him. The boy begins to date Barbie because he is expected to marry a woman but ends up with liking guys a bit better. He is able to break the barriers of his sexuality and experiment with other sexes that he wouldn’t have done with a “real” person. Being raised in a conservative society he is conditioned to date one gender and liking other genders is not okay. He had called Ken a faggot in the beginning of the story, when in fact he might be one himself. This goes to show the value of experimenting because it opens the mind of others and now the boy can allow himself be who he really is. Elaine and the boy are similar in that they have no shame in their experimentation. Elaine is able to find herself again through smoking crack, and the boy can explore between boys and girls freely. They both did things that were unexpected of them to do. Elaine being a mother and a wife, smoking crack isn’t something that she should be doing. The character from “A Real Doll” is a boy who dates a Barbie and realizes that he isn’t into it and likes Ken instead. He is expected to like and marry only women. These two characters have embarked on a journey of exploration by experimenting. They were able to figure out different things about themselves that they never would have known about otherwise. They are open to the endless possibilities of their life. They are now able to see that experimenting is good and it doesn’t 4 matter at what age it is done. Elaine and the boy have taught me that it’s okay to do “taboo’ things, as long as I’m not hurting anyone or myself in the process.