• What type of narrator is telling the story? When is the story based?

• What type of story is it?

• What sort of a portrait does the narrator create of his father?

• Why do you think the writer chose father’s day for the narrator’s father to be buried?

• Find the references where the narrator blame himself for his father’s death. Why does he blame himself?

• What does the key represent?

• Write one thing that the reader can learn from this story.

• Do you think that it is possible for a child to really to know one’s parents? Explain. (you can write the answer to this question on your blog)

image retrieved October15, 2008 from http://www.antique-hardware.com/key.jpg

While you listen take notes on the meaning of the following terms to discuss in class on Thursday- setting, narrator (1st/3rd) and point of view, characters (flat/round/protagonist/antagonist) and theme. Also choose a quote from the end of the podcast but have a reason for choosing this quote and be prepared to explain your choice in the class.

Cartoon by Bill Browning, from his webpage: http://www.mnispi.org/cartoon/2001/index.htm.

There is also a nice little summary about Hurston on the follwing site http://www.barnard.edu/archives/persons.htm

Sweat- part 1 to 5 mins

Aint-isn’t

Ah-I

Mah-my

Skeer-scare

Yo-your

Dat-that

1. What did Sykes do to Delia and why?
2. How does Sykes feel about Delia’s job? Why?
3. What happens to Delia when he threatens her to throw out the whites’ clothes? Why does she react like this?
4. Is Sykes a good husband? Explain.
5. How does he feel about the ‘new Delia’?

Sweat part II to 11:14mins

Mah’ied-married

Huh-her

Wuth-worth

Wuz-was

Lak-like

Sho-sure

Kin-can

1. What is the comparison being made as Delia is passing the men on Joe Clarke’s porch?
2. How do the men feel towards Delia?
3. How has Sykes changed as a husband?
4. What is the analogy made on p. 382?
5. Even though everyone knows what Sykes does to Delia, why does no one do anything to stop him?
6. Why does Sykes treat Bertha so differently to Delia?
7. Why do you think that Delia, despite the way she is treated by Sykes, tries to repair their relationship?

Part III to 16 mins

1. What might the foreshadowing be at the end of p.383?
2. Why does Delia get angry even though she is scared of the snake?
3. What is Sykes’ plan with the snake?
4. What does Delia tell Sykes (bottom p.384) and how does Sykes react to this? Why does he react like this?
5. What does Delia threaten Sykes with (top p.385) and how does Sykes react to this threat?

Part IV to 20:55

1. What is the role of religion in Delia’s life?
2. Why does Delia refer to the snake as ‘ol’ satan’?
3. What does Delia do to escape from the snake?
4. What is being said in the paragraph starting ‘finally she grew…’
5. What do you think is going to happen now?

Part V to end

1. How does Delia act during Sykes’ death?
2. Is that how a good religious person should act? Why does she do this?
3. How is Sykes represented at the end of the story? How is that different from the beginning of the story?

Discussion

1. What do you think the significance of the title is?
2. What do you think the themes of the story might be?
3. What are the symbols used in the story?
4. Do you think that Hurston’s story is typical of stories written at the time?
5. Why might Hurston have been criticised for her writing by other blacks?

While you are reading the story The Yellow wallpaper try to keep in mind the following questions:

What is the relationship between the narrator and her husband?

How does her husband treat her?

What is the narrator suffering from and how is it treated? Does she seem to be getting better? Why or why not?

Why is the narrator so obsessed with the wallpaper and what do you think it symbolises for her?

Can the story be defined as a feminist text? Why or why not?

How reliable is the narrator?

Analyse the characters.

• Considering the conventional symbolism of Chrysanthemums in the world, what do you think they symbolise in their many appearances in the story- look at each reference carefully.

• Look at the use of light and dark in the story.

• When reading the kitchen scene look at the significance of the meaning of the fire.

• Look at each part of the story and the emotions that accompany that part.

• What is the relationship between the Walter’s mother and Elizabeth?

• What is the epiphany (realisation) that Elizabeth has at the end of the story?

• What type of narrator is telling the story? Whose perspective is privileged and why is that important?

• What sort of weapons are used in the marriage by both the husband and wife against each other and why?

Basically read the story. Think about the story- what did you like about it or not like about it. What did you find interesting or unbelievable about it- do you want to critique it? Are there points that you didn’t understand, write them down, maybe someone else from the class can answer you question, or at least read the question and then in the next class you can all discuss this. You may write about the characters, the themes, the symbols. If you want you can even rewrite the ending of the story. The purpose of the blog is to get you to interact with each other about the stories and for you to practise your writing (it doesn’t have to be academic writing all the time) in order to help you improve the way you express your ideas.

Here are a couple of examples from last semester’s students although the blogs aren’t necessarily about stories http://yucelsblog.blogspot.com/ http://obilgin.blogspot.com/ http://dmryurek.blogspot.com/ http://erdincsahin.blogspot.com/ you can see some of the entries are long, some not so long. As always it is quality rather than quantity that matters (within reasonable limits of course).

Remember that you can use this blog as an alternative to participating in class if you feel too shy. If you want to do this then open up another category ‘class discussion’ and then I can use this to mark you for the 10% participation mark.

Welcome to 101+102. During the semester I will be writing in this blog, hopefully on a weekly basis if not more. In addition to reading my blog, feel free to comment on what I have written. Think of blogging as a conversation, a continuous dialogue not just something to read. Also take time to look at your fellow student’s blogs by reading them, commenting on them and if appropriate critiquing the content or if you know something more than or different to your fellow students feel free to give them a link to what you have read. They may also want to benefit from this information. My intention in blogging is to set up a learning community outside of the class and to give you a space to develop your ideas by interacting with others, classmates, or others outside the university. It will also give you a chance to develop your writing skills outside of the strict rules of academic writing. Although, make sure you acknowledge your sources if you use another source- this space is not free from the rules of academic honesty!

I hope you enjoy the semester.