English 215 Honors Fall 2013

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

More on The Catcher in the Rye

Here is a letter from JD Salinger to a producer about make Catcher in the Rye into a film. Notice the final line about all the other letters her has read on the matter:

http://collider.com/catcher-in-the-rye-movie-rejection-jd-salinger/147583/

Here is a collection of Salinger sources:

http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/Salinger.htm

Monday, December 9, 2013

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

"Lola" and "A Bag for Nicholas"

Thursday, November 14, 2013

High School Fight Club:
http://gothamist.com/2013/03/27/nj_high_school_officials_get_freake.php

Link to author's essays on writing:

http://litreactor.com/essays/36-writing-essays-by-chuck-palahniuk

Fight Club : A Ritual Cure For The Spiritual Ailment Of American Masculinity

http://www.thefilmjournal.com/issue8/fightclub.html

Fight Club: An Exploration of Buddhism

http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol11no2/ReedFightClub.htm

Fight Club and the Effects of Anger

http://usf.usfca.edu/pj//fightclub_cairo.htm

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Fight Club

Interview with the author:

http://chuckpalahniuk.net/files/features/fight-club-anthology-intro.pdf

Consumer Culture:

http://www.businessinsider.com/birth-of-consumer-culture-2013-2?op=1

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/12/consumer.aspx

http://www3.nd.edu/~olizardo/papers/jcr-fight-club.pdf

http://www.hartman-group.com/hartbeat/understanding-consumer-culture

Narrator-The narrator is the protagonist of the book and co-creator of Fight Club. The Narrator works as a recall specialist for the automobile industry, a job he despises. He attends support groups for individuals struggling with terminal diseases, though he is physically healthy.

Tyler Durden-Co-creator of Fight Club, Tyler is the charismatic and vicious leader of Fight Club who eventually starts Project Mayhem. He starts out as the Narrator's friend but…things become complicated.

Marla Singer-A young woman who the Narrator encounters at the support groups. She too attends them searching for some sort of meaningful human interaction and, like the Narrator, is faking her illnesses. She begins a relationship with Tyler, which upsets the Narrator.

Big Bob/Robert Paulson- A middle-aged former steroid abuser who the Narrator meets at a testicular cancer survivor support group. Bob is the first to encourage the Narrator to cry at the support group meetings.

Emasculation

It asks the question: “What have men been reduced to? Why do all people accept things they way they are?”

Violence

The novel is called Fight Club for a reason; there is such an underground club that exists. It starts with Tyler and the narrator but quickly spreads. The fighting is supposed to serve as a spiritual reawakening. The fighting itself reminds the men that they are alive. As part of Tyler's philosophy, it also reminds them that they will die.

Chaos & Societal Breakdown

Tyler has named their group Project Mayhem and the philosophy of the group is that through chaos a better world will be achieved. He wants to destroy what mankind had done to the planet in hopes of cleansing it.

The Threat of Death

Tyler preaches the importance of knowing that one’s life will come to end. He believes only at that point will people really seek to improve their lives.

Consumer Culture

The Narrator complains about the emptiness her experience from consumer culture and how we as individuals are tied to our “stuff”. He hates his job and doesn't appear to have much of a social life. When he deems a product worthy of purchase it is the only real power he feels over his life. If he can buy more, he can improve his life

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Essay 2 Due Tuesday November 12th

ENG 215 Honors

Essay 2

Due Tuesday November 12^th

3-5 pages

USE TWO OUTSIDE SOURCES (NOT INCLUDING THE TEXT!) AND QUOTE THE PRIMARY TEXTS AS WELL.

Some sources can be found on the class blog: english215honorsfall13.blogspot.com/

1. We have discussed quite a bit about the impact of the assembly line and the development of the automobile on the life of Americans at the time of Ragtime. Using examples from the text and from other outside sources explain how these two developments changed America.

2. The characters in Ragtime all lived through a time of great change and turmoil in America. Pick one of the main characters and explain how he or she dealt with that change. Consider how their social standing helped or hurt their ability to change.

3. Use examples from the text and outside sources to discuss the appeal of Harry Houdini.

4. Take a closer look at the sections where Freud is present and do some research into how he felt about America at the time of his visit . Just be sure to include examples from the primary texts as well.

5. What role does race play in the novel? Obviously this is a big question but try to narrow it down to a few examples to illuminate this very large issue.

6. In “Live For Today” we see Jinx struggling to find and establish her own identity while working in a morgue surrounded by people society has cast aside. Using outside sources that discuss identity in human beings, explain what Jinx’s daily struggle is.

7. In “Too Near Real” we see the impact technology can have on an individual. Explain the negative and/or positive effects we see on the character and incorporate outside sources.