Instruction
1.Essay 2: Thesis Due 11/3
This week, we take a break from our reading to complete our second major assignment in the course. Unlike Essay #1, this essay requires a “thesis,” a central claim about one or more of the works of literature we’ve read, a claim that you’ll support by bringing in evidence from the text. A good thesis requires a deep knowledge of the text – you’ll be re-reading and re-reading the text as you write. Imagine your audience as people who are familiar with the text, which is to say that you don’t need to summarize what happens.
2.Understanding Character Motivations
In 1-2 paragraphs y: Respond to one of the following questions. Then respond to one of your classmate's comments. Your response to a classmate's comments is due Sunday.
1. What is Leroy’s attitude toward Norma Jean and the changes she is making in her life?
2. Reflect on the character of Mabel. Are her intentions good or selfish or both? Why does she insist the couple go to Shiloh?
3. Discuss Norma Jean’s attitude toward Leroy.
3:Recognizing Authorial Decisions
In 1-2 paragraphs respond to one of the following questions; then respond to one a classmate's comments. Consider a classmate's response that is different from your own. Your response to a peer's comments is due Sunday.
1. Why do you think Mason named her characters “Norma Jean” (Marilyn Monroe’s real name) and Leroy (which translates to “the king”)?
2. Discuss the symbolic meaning of Leroy’s desire to build a log cabin. Does this desire to build a log cabin relate to other aspects of his character?
3. How do the changes in the Kentucky area reflect or relate to changes in the Moffit household?
4. Re-read the final paragraph of the story and examine it for deeper symbolic meaning, almost as if it were a painting. How do the details reveal truths about the couple’s relationship and other themes that were present throughout the story?
4:Relationships
In “Shiloh,” Norma Jean starts taking college courses and becomes excited by the subject matter. But she doesn’t get too much enthusiasm and support from Leroy. In fact, one could argue that Leroy resents her decision to go to school. Write about how your relationship with one or more of your friends or family members has changed (or why it hasn’t) since you returned to school, how you have responded, and the effect it is having on your education and family/social life now.
5.Death of a Salesman
Identify and respond to a particular sentence, phrase, or moment from “Death of a Salesman.” See week 1 for an example.
Reply Read through your classmates’ responses, choose one, and write a few sentences in response.
6.Flashback
In what we might call a “flashback,” we get a glimpse of the Loman family some years back, when Biff was still in high school. What do you make of Willy’s parenting style in that scene? What sort of lessons is he teaching his sons, and is he giving good advice? Feel free to reflect on other aspects of this extended “flashback scene.”
Respond to the comments of one of your classmates.
7.Formal Response to Death of a Salesman
Write an essay of any length on any one of the following topics:
1) Read closely Biff and Happy’s scene together in their childhood bedroom. How are they similar, and how are they different? What larger problems is each one confronting in their 30s?
2) How would you describe Willy and Linda’s relationship? Please provide evidence from the text to support your impression.
3) You have read the first act of Death of a Salesman and you’ve watched the first act in a TV production. But both of these formats are not a true/full representation of what Death of a Salesman is supposed to be: a staged drama before a live audience. This thread asks you to discuss how each format (script and TV production) changes