British Literature from 1800, "The Mythmakers"

This is the course blog for British Lit from 1800, so come here to find all your reading assignments/questions, the Art Paper assignment, Mid-Term and Final information, and links related to literature and art. Everything here is supplementary, and you don't need to comment on this site or really do anything with it. It's just a virtual bulletin board so you can find material you might have lost or forgotten about, and where I can offer you some 'behind the scenes' material in case it helps you along the way. Be sure to buy the SIX book for class in any edition: Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, The Importance of Being Earnest, Heart of Darkness, and Fellowship of the Ring. And please be prepared to dig into this books and explore them with the class. Don't rely on internet or AI summaries, since then you're only reading someone else's point of view, and you'll never discover your own.  If you have any questions or concerns, feel fr...

NOTE: Try to read as much of Part Two as you can, though I understand if you don't have time to finish it. Since we only have two days left, I want to read slightly larger chunks of the novel than we normally would. But again, I'm not worried about you finishing the book--just getting most of it ready before Thursday.  Remember the Final Exam Paper is in the post below this one if you lose your hard copy.  Answer two of the following: Q1: What do you think drew Julia to Winston in the first place? Is she truly in love with him, as the original note says? Are we meant to trust her words and motives, considering that she's clearly a very accomplished actor? Q2: For all his attraction to Julia, there are a few things that trouble Winston about her, namely that she takes no interest in history or anything about the Party that doesn't immediately relate to her. Why does this trouble him, and what might this say about the younger generation that grew up with the Party in char...

Eng 2653: British Lit from 1800 Final Exam Project: Judging a Book By Its Cover “A book cover demands our initial engagement with a work. You may not think a cover reflects your own thoughts of a book, but it evokes a response and inspires a reader’s imagination to begin building the world within the pages created by the author…A book cover is a key with which we open a world of storytelling…one page at a time, cover to cover.” ( Elda Rotor, Classic Penguins: Cover to Cover) This final exam is very simple: I want you to find new cover art for each of the 6 books in our class. The art can be come from the artists we discussed in class (or ones you wrote about in 3 of your papers), or can be something completely different, whether ancient or modern (or your own). However, instead of writing a paper about it, I want you to make a six-slide Powerpoint (or whatever visual aid you choose) that shows the work of art, lists the book and author, and contains a “book blurb” quote from the...

Try to at least get to Part Two of the book, and if possible, read to around Chapter 2. You'll have time to catch up on the weekend if you fall behind. The questions below will cover the entire book up until Part Two, Chapter 2, since we only touched on a few ideas in class today (Tuesday).  Don't forget that I'll accept the Time Machine/Klee papers as late as Thursday, but after that we have to press on!  Answer two of the following: Q1: Winston's 'friend,' Syme, is ecstatic about the evolution of Newspeak, since it's "the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year" (Chapter V). Why is Newspeak obsessed with reducing the words and the range of expression available to its speakers? How does this show the relationship between language and culture in a devious way? Q2: One of Big Brother's greatest slogan's is, "Who controls the past...controls the future" (Chapter III). They call this "reality control,...

  Since we're a bit behind, I want you to go ahead and start 1984  for Tuesday's class, reading the first 7 or so chapters (or as much as you can). We will still write about a new work of art, but we'll do so in tandem with the novel, so as not to waste any more time! (only 4 days are left of the semester!!) But I won't give you any questions so you can just enjoy reading for a change.  Remember that your H.G. Wells & Klee Art & Lit papers are due on Tuesday if you want to (or have to) do them.  Also, I'll be giving you the Final Exam assignment on Thursday, so you'll definitely want to tune in for that!  More soon! 

Klee, Fugue in Red (1921) NOTE: Sadly, I have to CANCEL TUESDAY'S CLASS AS WELL, since my wife has to go to Norman for a minor procedure which will render her unable to drive home. So we'll have to pick this up NEXT Thursday. Sorry about this...but it gives you extra time to read and finish the questions! Don't forget, too, about the Art and Literature paper for Wells if you need to do it. Answer two of the following: Q1: Is the Time Traveler a reliable narrator? How might his own biases and beliefs color his narrative, particularly when describing the Eloi and the Morlocks? Is there anywhere we can tell that Wells might be critiquing the Traveler himself? Q2: In Marina Warner’s Introduction to the Penguin version of The Time Machine, she notes that in many of Wells’ fictions, “He show an almost anorexic fascination with feeding, hunger, and abstemiousness.” Why do you think Wells (and the Time Traveler), as a late Victorian, is so drawn to the idea of eating in the novel...