English 3319 students:
For our Monday, November 22, blog, please post a comment of just one well-developed paragraph about the most helpful secondary source of literary criticism you are going to use in your research paper, which is due after the break, on Friday, December 3, which is the last day of classes.
In your comment, please answer these questions: In what way is this particular literary critic who authored this source helpful to you? How do you plan to use this critic's insights in your paper?
This week you do not have to reply to another student's comment.
This weekend's reminders:
- Please keep in mind scholarly secondary sources from other disciplines (social sciences, history, etc.) are not supposed to be used in your paper and that those sources would not count toward your required minimum of seven sources of literary criticism.
- The two literary works you have chosen to write about are primary sources that are not counted toward the required seven secondary sources.
- The paper (a print copy, please) is due at the beginning of class on December 3. If you have to turn in your paper late, you may email it to me as a Word document attachment.
Have a delicious and productive holiday break,
Dr. Kornasky
Wyatt Hase
ReplyDeleteIn my research, the most helpful secondary source of literary criticism I will be utilizing is ““Shutters Shut and Open”: Making Sense of Gertrude Stein’s Second Portrait of Picasso” by Linda Voris. The reason I have chosen this secondary source above all my others is because of Voris’s scrupulous attention to detail. Not only does she provide an amazing analysis of the poem itself, gathering information form 90 different sources, but she interestingly delves deep into Stein’s epistemology and her application of her solipsistic modernist vision in the work. Moreover, Voris references some of Stein’s other poetry that closely relates to her “Second Portrait of Picasso;” I have found this very helpful in my effort to search for similar poetry to write about in my essay as well. I plan to utilize Voris’s criticism in my essay to weed out Stein’s motives for writing such cryptic poetry and explain how her work fits into her much larger philosophic modernist worldview, which is that the self, what we experience as individuals, is the source of all that we know and understand; and therefore, all preconceived notions, which are socio-cultural in origin, should be (or could at least justifiably be) abandoned in the pursuit of poetic clarity. I plan to contrast Stein’s perceptions with those of Ezra Pound, who in his poetry, seeks not to wholly abandon our socio-cultural roots, but rather to refine their messages into easily-understood, lower resolution images.
One of the most insightful sources I have found so far is Gerardine Meaney’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night: Modernism, Post-Modernism and Maternal Loss,” as it discusses the theme of motherhood, and loss of motherhood, within Long Day’s Journey into Night, as well as ties this theme into Modernism and Post-Modernism. Meaney explains how the loss of mother, as seen is this play, is representative of a wider cultural loss, as society grapples with a loss of legitimacy and authenticity, which was often articulated as a “disinheritance” from some outside force, topically coded as female. Meaney goes on to examine the dynamics of the Tyrone family, and compares them to a fallen Trinity and Virgin Mary. This source discusses the role women played during the Modernist Era, and how the changes in gender roles effected the family structure and society as a whole. I plan to use this source in my paper by drawing on Meaney’s ideas pertaining to the religious symbolism found in the Tyrone family, the role of Mary Tyrone, and the role of women, mothers, and families during the 20th Century.
ReplyDeleteThe most helpful literary secondary source I will be using in my paper is “Repetition, Race, and Desire in The Great Gatsby.” Although this literary source does have a lot of information about race and how Gatsby is perceived. There is quite a bit of information about how Gatsby only sees Daisy as a prize to be won. This source is important for my paper as it will help me describe how women in the early 1900s were viewed. During this time period women still did not have a whole lot of power within a relationship. This source dives into Gatsby’s desires and what he truly wants. The academic journal delves into the story through Nick’s narration and is able to provide some further insight into how Nick really feels about the whole Gatsby and Daisy situation. I plan to compare the treatment of women in both The Great Gatsby and Their eyes were watching God to show exactly how difficult it was to be a woman in the early 1900s and how devalued they were by society.
ReplyDeleteJaqueline Lance is the critic of my first and most helpful secondary source. “The Great Gatsby : Driving to Destruction with the Rich and Careless at the Wheel,” talks about how everyone in the novel is destroyed by the classist society and their desire for materialistic ideals. I can use this source to further my idea that people value those who are rich and successful. While I am talking about both The Great Gatsby and Absalom, Absalom!, this source gives me a lot of content from The Great Gatsby. I plan to use Lance’s insight to develop my paragraphs about The Great Gatsby and how their need for money destroyed them all.
ReplyDeleteOne of my most helpful sources is probably “The ‘Con’ in Conspiracy” by Timothy Lem-Smith. It is a source about Topdog/Underdog, and it essentially talks about how the story is related to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. This article discusses how Lincoln is continually “killed” as he pretends to be Abraham Lincoln in the arcade. The article explains this is related to racial violence. The two works I’m planning to write about are Topdog/Underdog and Absalom, Absalom! I’m planning to write about how they both examine racism, and this source will be helpful for achieving that goal.
ReplyDeleteI found this secondary source to be the most helpful because it really did help develop my paper. I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to how I wanted my paper to sound, and in which was I really trying to go. Iñes Casas Maroto wrote a criticism of Their Eyes Were Watching God, that was easier to follow along and wasn’t hard to read. She wrote this title that immediately grabbed my attention and began to speak about topics that I want to write about such as a perceived role in society that woman play. How the main characters break the stereotype of the role. She pointed out several good points about the story and how the imagery that was used illudes to the turmoil within, and the actions are staged to connect with readers that I really want to capture in my paper.
ReplyDeleteAs I am going to explore American identity and values and their relation to social class in my research paper, the most helpful secondary source is “The Great Gatsby.” Through the story of Gatsby, I am going to navigate modern people’s idea of class or success is defined by social statue and money though his material desire and success. In the novel, there are clear division of social classes: rich elite social class, newly rich social class, and the working class. I can use this to study American identity and values to social class.
ReplyDeleteOne secondary source of literary criticism that I am going to use in my research paper is The Dream of the Great American Novel written by Lawrence Buell and published by The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2014. Since I chose the concept of “The Great American Novel” as the topic for my research paper, this secondary source will provide me with helpful insights into the concept in general and specific examples of novels that can possibly considered to be “The Great American Novel”. In his book, Buell discusses The Great Gatsby as well as Absalom, Absalom! among other works of literature. In my own research paper, I plan on using the authors view concerning the questions of if and why those two novels should be considered “The Great American Novel”. Furthermore, I want to use Buell’s insights in comparison to other literary critics to see if they share the same opinion concerning the debate if The Great Gatsby and Absalom, Absalom! could be “The Great American Novel”.
ReplyDeleteThis post was made by Aaron McGuire.
ReplyDeleteCurrently, one of the most helpful secondary sources I have found is Laurel Bollinger's "I Shall Be Telling This With a Sigh": Choice Blindness and Cognitive Processing in Frost's "The
Road Not Taken".
This particular literary critic has been helpful due to their in-depth analysis of the nature of the roads in relation to the narrator described in Frost's poem, which is invaluable to me given the topic and controversy I will be discussing in my paper. I plan to use this critic's insights to help clarify the dynamic between the roads and the narrator as well as how individuality of decision plays a role in the American identity.
A scholarly essay that I chose is written by Hooti Noornakhsh and Farzaneh Azizpour titled “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman: A Postmodernist Study”. The essay focuses on how the characters are now living in a postmodernism world but are desperately clinging to the modernist ideals of the past. Willy, whose mind we are inside of throughout the play, is devastated by the evolving world around him and feels lost trying to adjust. The essay highlights the isolating feelings he grapples with and how the Death of a Salesman captures the transition from modernism to postmodernism within America.
ReplyDeleteA primary secondary source would be, “Social Class and Status in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby”. This is basically a way to look at how the classes were completely different as well as biased to the people of the time. There were many different views that were had due the social and economic standings of a person. There is and was a lot of thought that would go into determining where people would rise or fall. The idea that wealth can get you anywhere and get you anything is something that has been around forever, it is something though that was very mainstream. This is not something that seems to be going away anytime soon, but is something that is obvious in “The Great Gatsby”. There is a lot of character development but there are still many problems due to money, social classes, or simply being a woman in a man’s world.
ReplyDeleteWhen looking through the research database, I was able to find an Academic Journal regarding T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pounds views and different beliefs called, AFTER MANY GODS: T. S. ELIOT AND THE NAGGING QUESTION OF EZRA POUND’S BELIEFS. Since I have chosen to talk about American Identity and values and their relationships to other ongoing issues, I thought this would be a great source to use. Considering we have gone over their work in class, and they are both great well-known authors. The article seems to be mostly focused on religion and how it affects others values and beliefs. It mainly talks about Pound and his views on religion and how he seems to go against Eliot’s views. Religion is something that has greatly affected American identity and is often used against each other if another person doesn’t believe in the same beliefs.
ReplyDeleteMadelyn Mendoza
ReplyDeleteFor my final paper, I am going to be discussing the American identity but more specifically how race, social ethics, and social standards affect the way American Modernism has developed through the ages into what we learn about today. I will be using the primary sources of The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God to help guide my research and provide the backbone for my paper. One of the main secondary sources I will be using is an academic journal entitled "White Skin, White Mask: Passing Posing and Performing in The Great Gatsby." I have chosen this source because it discusses how different races and minorities could construe the novel as well as provides the identities for the novel characters as a whole in terms of race and class.