THE AWAKENING: Anticipation

As we begin to move into Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, try to focus on the meaning of the title.  What is the significance of an "awakening?"   Discuss an awakening in your life, if you can.  Discuss an awakening in America, if you can reflect on the past.  Finally, what do you anticipate in Chopin's awakening?  Will the protagonist, Edna be awakened?  If so, to what?

MITCHELL, KRISTIN, TAYLOR, RYAN: Week 5: CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE

Please wait until the final presentation day to post your blog (due Tuesday, March 20)

In this final group presentation, we have been introduced to an array of new authors and readings that help to depict the nature of literature in the 20th century.  What decade, from the background material did you find the most interesting?  The Cold War of the 50s?  Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech of the 60s?  The Kent State University riots of the early 70s? John Lennon's murder in the early 80s?  And what about the Clinton era of the 90s or the invasion of Kuwait?  Think about all of the material covered and choose your favorite decade.  Also discuss the value of the week-long presentation and your favorite two pieces of literature covered during the week.

WEEK 4 PRESENTATION: Maria, Morgan, & Laura: THE MODERNS, Part II

What an adventurous week with the Moderns, Part II.  Maria, Morgan, and Laura had everyone dancing the Charleston and drawing pictures of parasites!  What a contrast and what fun!  Your task for this blog is to write an overview of the week, focusing on what you believe to be the most educational moment for you.  Support your moment with evidence.  Then, what is it that you learned from Group 4 that helps you to know and to understand the influences and motivations of the Modern Age as read and discussed this past week? Be sure to show your appreciation and satisfaction in the presenters. 

WEEK 3 PRESENTATION: Elizabeth, Kristy, and Alexandra: THE MODERNS

We’ve been introduced to a variety of authors this past week that help to illustrate the literature of the emerging Modern Era.  Writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck, to name a few, have created a new American voice that has broken away from the British influences on American literature in the past.  Be sure to relate your favorite parts of the week-long presentation and make suggestions that may have been considered for additions to the presentation.  Choose one of your favorite reading assignments from this week’s assignments and relate in greater depth, how the story, along with its author, fits into the Modern era of American literature (you may have to review some background material too). Good Luck.