Sept. 5 - 11

 

OUTCOMES

Students should

  • be familiar with the major events of the historical period corresponding to the published works of writers studied.
  • understand and apply the characteristics of realism to the works of Howells, Chopin, and Freeman
  • explore and analyze the subtle motivations of the characters in the assigned works.
  • be familiar with the plots and characters of assigned fiction and major ideas of the assigned non-fiction.

Assignments include

  • reading the historical introductory material in the text book,
  • reading link on Women in the 19th Century
  • reading selections from the works of Howells, Chopin, and Freeman

Assessments include one discussion on the three stories and a un-proctored quiz on the first three weeks.

 

Sept. 5 - 11

 Readings:              

  1. Read the head note for William Dean Howells and “Editha,” p. 305+.
  2. Read the head note for Kate Chopin, p. 420 and, “At the ‘Cadian Ball,” and “The Storm,” p. 427+. ("The Storm" is a continuation of "Cadian Ball" and contains an unusual intimate experience, at least for 1900.)
  3. Read the headnote for Freeman and “New England Nun,” p. 437+.

You’ve read four stories with three women as the important characters:  Editha, Calixta, and Louisa.  You noticed that the situation of women was quite different from today as they were nearly totally subservient to men in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some of the women in these stories, however, had very strong opinions and/or independent natures.

Read Women In The 19th Century

Discussion 1: The Women, due Sept. 10 In each of the stories assigned in #1-3 above, think about woman’s situation (wealth and status) was and her relationship to the man/men in her life.  The discussion asks about the degree of freedom each character seems to have. You must be very specific, providing a specific proof of each general statement. For example, if you say that Susie May was extremely poor, you need to mention that she and her family rented a one-bedroom apartment and ate turnips for every meal--or something like that.

Quiz 1: Not proctored,  due Sept. 11.

This is the first unit quiz and is an important grade, so study everything read so far in the semester to prepare for the it. In addition, reread all the links assigned and review the assignments and discussions.

There are no fill-in-the-blank questions or multiple choice. All questions require that you recall the information so it is hard to fake answers.

But you will get a break!! You have two attempts on this quiz, so take it one time the first of the week to see how you do and what the questions are like. I will grade it so you can see how you do. Then take it one more time before midnight Thursday night.

Good luck, and call me if you need to ask questions before you take it: 601.906.2010.