qwermeli@hinsdale86.org
Thursday, 23 April 2015
Tuesday, 21 April 2015
Short Story 2: "Rock Springs"
Odds and Ends:
If you will not be in class on Wednesday to discuss "Rock Springs," you must schedule an appointment with me to do so ASAP.
Have "Rock Springs" read for tomorrow!
From Drew Perry's take on "Rock Springs" for a series of pieces called "Stories We Love" for Fiction Writers Review:
It’s a story about entropy. About falling further and faster apart. About hanging on even when it’s well past time to hang on. It’s a story about race and capitalism and crime and love and marriage, all the Big American Things—Do you see what happens? This is meant to be some kind of craft talk. I’m supposed to somehow point to the ways in which the story glues itself together, and I can’t do it. “Rock Springs” is a story I understand only through its moments: through the woman and her damaged son in that glowing trailer park, through the cat staring up at Earl like he “was the face of the moon,” through Edna delivering to Earl, after it’s certain they’ll break up, one of the most wrenching, most darkly funny, most beautiful lines I know in all of letters: “Eat your chicken, Earl,” she says. “Then we can go to bed. I’m tired, but I’d like to make love to you anyway. None of this is a matter of not loving you, you know that.” It’s that line, that chicken line, that returns to me again and again. It’s one of the handful of lines from the various stories I know that’s always, always with me, a reminder that even when you are, in fact, chasing the Big Things, your characters still have to eat and want.
And here we’ve reached the end of all this without time for me even to talk about the end of the story, a fiercely triumphant last note that’s as much about literature itself as it is about Earl, more broken now than he was back on the highway when the oil light came on. There he is, down in the parking lot, and he looks back up at the hotel, at Edna and Cheryl, and at us, really: “What would you think a man was doing if you saw him in the middle of the night looking in the windows of cars in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn? Would you think he was trying to get his head cleared? Would you think he was trying to get ready for a day when trouble would come down on him? Would you think his girlfriend was leaving him? Would you think he had a daughter? Would you think he was anybody like you?” He is, of course. He is the car thief inside each and every one of us.
CLICK HERE FOR A PDF OF "ROCK SPRINGS"
--
"Rock Springs" Prep Activity:
- Dissect one prominent symbol in "Rock Springs." How does the symbol function? What does it contribute to the piece?
-What does "Rock Springs" say about:
- What do we make of the scene with Earl and the woman with the phone? Is this scene allegorical?
- In what ways is "Rock Springs" similar to "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"
 |
| A brooding Richard Ford |
Odds and Ends:
If you have not taken the Dante essays, you must schedule an appointment with me to do so ASAP!
If you did not discuss the Oates story, you must schedule an appointment with me to do so ASAP.
If you will not be in class on Wednesday to discuss "Rock Springs," you must schedule an appointment with me to do so ASAP.
Have "Rock Springs" read for tomorrow!
Remember: Thursday is Mr. Wermeling's last day! I will arrive around 7:30 on Wednesday and Thursday, and will stay quite late both days. I will be in the English office 3rd and 10th, and will be in Room 260 for 5th lunch. If you would like to visit me during 7th or 8th, you may schedule an appointment with me in the Writing Lab by clicking here.
----
From Drew Perry's take on "Rock Springs" for a series of pieces called "Stories We Love" for Fiction Writers Review:
It’s a story about entropy. About falling further and faster apart. About hanging on even when it’s well past time to hang on. It’s a story about race and capitalism and crime and love and marriage, all the Big American Things—Do you see what happens? This is meant to be some kind of craft talk. I’m supposed to somehow point to the ways in which the story glues itself together, and I can’t do it. “Rock Springs” is a story I understand only through its moments: through the woman and her damaged son in that glowing trailer park, through the cat staring up at Earl like he “was the face of the moon,” through Edna delivering to Earl, after it’s certain they’ll break up, one of the most wrenching, most darkly funny, most beautiful lines I know in all of letters: “Eat your chicken, Earl,” she says. “Then we can go to bed. I’m tired, but I’d like to make love to you anyway. None of this is a matter of not loving you, you know that.” It’s that line, that chicken line, that returns to me again and again. It’s one of the handful of lines from the various stories I know that’s always, always with me, a reminder that even when you are, in fact, chasing the Big Things, your characters still have to eat and want.
And here we’ve reached the end of all this without time for me even to talk about the end of the story, a fiercely triumphant last note that’s as much about literature itself as it is about Earl, more broken now than he was back on the highway when the oil light came on. There he is, down in the parking lot, and he looks back up at the hotel, at Edna and Cheryl, and at us, really: “What would you think a man was doing if you saw him in the middle of the night looking in the windows of cars in the parking lot of the Ramada Inn? Would you think he was trying to get his head cleared? Would you think he was trying to get ready for a day when trouble would come down on him? Would you think his girlfriend was leaving him? Would you think he had a daughter? Would you think he was anybody like you?” He is, of course. He is the car thief inside each and every one of us.
CLICK HERE FOR A PDF OF "ROCK SPRINGS"
--
"Rock Springs" Prep Activity:
- Dissect one prominent symbol in "Rock Springs." How does the symbol function? What does it contribute to the piece?
-What does "Rock Springs" say about:
- criminality (Is Earl a criminal? Is Earl evil?)
- responsibility and adulthood
- fatherhood
- masculinity
- race
- consumerism
- womanhood (How are women portrayed in the story?)
- What do we make of the scene with Earl and the woman with the phone? Is this scene allegorical?
- In what ways is "Rock Springs" similar to "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"
Monday, 13 April 2015
Short Story 1: "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"
This week we will be reading Joyce Carol Oates' 1966 short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"
Brain Drop
Answer this question: What is Bob Dylan's classic 1965 tune "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" about? In your response, please note at least ONE example of figurative language: metaphor, simile, analogy, allusion, imagery, etc. How does this example of figurative language contribute to the overall meaning of the piece?
You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun
Crying like a fire in the sun
Look out the saints are comin’ through
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue
The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense
Take what you have gathered from coincidence
The empty-handed painter from your streets
Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets
This sky, too, is folding under you
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue
All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home
All your reindeer armies, are all going home
The lover who just walked out your door
Has taken all his blankets from the floor
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue
Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you
Forget the dead you’ve left, they will not follow you
The vagabond who’s rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore
Strike another match, go start anew
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue
Group Work:
Create small groups of two or three students. Complete these three tasks.
- Come to a consensus about what the song means. Why?
- Draw a particularly evocative couplet, image, or scene from the song.
- Attempt to solve the mystery: Who is Baby Blue?
Other thoughts on Dylan and "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"
-Dylan and youth culture of the 60's
-Dylan and Arnold Friend
- "The vagabond who’s rapping at your door/ Is standing in the clothes that you once wore"
Short Story Micro Unit
Short
Story Micro Unit (April 13th – April 23rd)
I am a second semester senior. You are a second semester
senior. We’re all second semester seniors. Our young lives are on the cusp of
some seismic changes. As such, I have decided to occupy our final two weeks
together with two short stories that
address concerns relevant to our current condition. As we read these short stories, please
consider this question: “What does it mean to be an adult?” Think about notions
of independence, maturity, and agency. When
does one leave childhood?
Texts: “Where
Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates
“Rock Springs” Richard Ford
“Rock Springs” Richard Ford
Note:
Both texts will be provided for you in print. You do not need to purchase any
texts for this micro unit. I have found a pdf of Joyce Carol Oates’ story; it
is posted on the blog.
Assessments:
Engagement
with this micro unit will assessed through two
graded discussions. As such, it is critical that you attend class on
discussion days: this Friday (4/17) and next Wednesday (4/22). Further, it is
critical that you thoughtfully engage in these discussions, so do prepare
yourself accordingly. Each discussion will be worth 25 points. You will be assessed based on the
quality of your comments. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know
after class! J
Calendar:
Monday, 4/13: Introduce unit & hand out “Where Are
You Going? Where Have You Been?”
Tuesday, 4/14: Joyce Carol Oates Lecture/Reading Day
Wednesday, 4/15: Have
“Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” Completely Read/small group activity
Thursday, 4/16: Discussion prep activity
Friday,
4/17: Discussion 1) “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”
Monday, 4/20: Introduce Richard Ford’s “Rock Springs”
Tuesday, 4/21: Richard Ford Lecture/ “Rock Springs” reading
day
Wednesday,
4/22: Discussion 2) “Rock Springs”
Thursday, 4/23: Mr. Wermeling’s last day/ debrief
Friday: Mr. Charters takes over
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Allegory Discussion
Allegories are typically used as literary devices or rhetorical devices that convey deeper meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, and/or events, which together create the moral, spiritual, or political meaning the author wishes to convey.
Examples?
Is there a difference between allegory and extended metaphor?
Allegory Discussion:
Take the first half of class to prep for these discussion questions: "How is allegory utilized in The Inferno?" Please note not only the allegory of the entire narrative, but the smaller allegories within the various circles and bolgias. Please find at least three piece of evidence to support your arguments. Consider the most recent reading, up to Canto XXXIV.
Examples?
Is there a difference between allegory and extended metaphor?
Allegory Discussion:
Take the first half of class to prep for these discussion questions: "How is allegory utilized in The Inferno?" Please note not only the allegory of the entire narrative, but the smaller allegories within the various circles and bolgias. Please find at least three piece of evidence to support your arguments. Consider the most recent reading, up to Canto XXXIV.
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