More Help With The Road

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/447754/summary

http://search.proquest.com/docview/198091990?pq-origsite=gscholar

This article will help with any questions dealing with God or religion in the novel.

"Yet, in The Road, the question of redemption returns, with allusions to biblical prophets and to the boy as a messianic figure. Three paragraphs into the book, McCarthy conveys the father's thoughts: "Then he just sat there holding his binoculars and watching the ashen daylight congeal over the land. He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: if he is not the word of God God never spoke" (4). The question, however, is: how are we to interpret this language within the context of a world that has collapsed? The context is critical here. How do we read images such as the breath of God and the messianic references to the boy after the end of the world? This is a persisting and unavoidable dilemma for readers of The Road - the moment you think redemption, you encounter its impossibility - the ending has already happened."

Essay 3

3pages, double spaced, MLA Guidelines

DUE THURSDAY Dec 12th

Pick one of the following topics and be sure to use TWO RELIEABLE OUTSIDE SOURCES!

http://eng215fall16.blogspot.com/

The Road

1) One man they meet on the road says "There is no God and we are his prophets." What does he mean by this? Explain the role of God and faith in The Road. As always, use direct references to the text as your proof.

2) Describe the relationship between the boy and his father.  What do they feel for each other? How do they maintain their affection for and faith in each other in such brutal conditions? How do they support each other during the tougher times of the novel?

3) What does The Road ultimately suggest about good and evil? What separates the “good guys” from the “bad guys”? How do we as readers know this?

4) Use the idea that the boy is symbolic of a religious figure or “the one” and explain how his role changes over the course of the novel.

5) Compare any of the themes we’ve discussed at length when looking at these post-apocalyptic novels to what we see in the The Road. Maybe compare how the characters in The Road and Blindness react similarly or in different ways to the breakdown of society. Or the psychological effects seen on the main characters in The Road and The Drowned World. You can come up with your own ideas here—just run it by me.

More on The Road

This is an article on The Road and "The Allegory of the Cave"

tp://journals.tdl.org/cormacmccarthy/index.php/cormacmccarthy/article/view/852/616


More about The Road
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/books/review/Kennedy.t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.themodernword.com/reviews/mccarthy_road.html

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n02/philip-connors/crenellated-heat

http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2639&context=etd

http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/013_04/499

http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/013_04/499

http://network.bepress.com/explore/arts-and-humanities/english-language-and-literature/literature-in-english-north-america/?facet=publication_facet%3A%22Cormac+McCarthy+Conference%22

The Road

http://docs.rwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=fcas_fp

https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/553396/swartzZachary.pdf

http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1031/survival-and-morality-in-cormac-mccarthys-the-road-exploring-aquinian-grace-and-the-boy-as-messiah

NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/books/review/Kennedy.t.html?pagewanted=all

http://blog.mattmecham.com/2007/05/29/cormack-mccarthy-the-road/

Hope:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/200805/coping-and-procrastination-the-role-hope

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CGoQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.swarthmore.edu%2FSocSci%2Fbschwar1%2Fpitfalls.pdf&ei=5epxT-OyKoPC0QGIlOWgAQ&usg=AFQjCNHKErPOuXD1lgCFc7gjizHGBkt_jg&sig2=Iz-GAe8EOtNQLnsdv7Ws9g

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joyce-mcfadden/the-psychology-of-hope-an_b_141856.html

This is an article on The Road and "The Allegory of the Cave"

tp://journals.tdl.org/cormacmccarthy/index.php/cormacmccarthy/article/view/852/616


More about The Road
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/books/review/Kennedy.t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.themodernword.com/reviews/mccarthy_road.html

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n02/philip-connors/crenellated-heat

http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2639&context=etd

http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/013_04/499

http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/013_04/499

http://network.bepress.com/explore/arts-and-humanities/english-language-and-literature/literature-in-english-north-america/?facet=publication_facet%3A%22Cormac+McCarthy+Conference%22

"The Mule" in African American Literature--The Bluest Eye

http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1137&context=honors

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Pe4W0-QQdvsC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=mule+in+african+american+female+characters&ots=pj-4vEOHIk&sig=5b1Z0gsXFfXcdrONBXh3RJIdXyE#v=onepage&q=mule%20in%20african%20american%20female%20characters&f=false

http://ijellh.com/ecofeminist-reading-toni-morrisons-the-bluest-eye/

http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6935&context=etd

http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/webclient/StreamGate?folder_id=0&dvs=1477932641146~346

The Bluest Eye

Outside Sources for The Bluest Eye

http://www.piedmont.k12.ca.us/phs/pdf/library/bluesteye.pdf

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3041475?sid=21105298936851&uid=3739808&uid=3739256&uid=4&uid=2

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3041932?sid=21105298936851&uid=3739256&uid=2&uid=3739808&uid=4

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

http://www.articlemyriad.com/literary-analysis-bluest-eye-toni-morrison-history-slavery/

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/01/11/home/morrison-bluest.html

http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/publications/37.2.bump.html

Article on The role of black dolls in American culture:

http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/05/28/addy-walker-american-girl/

Here is a collection of sources that could be useful:

http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/t4prod/bisguier/resourcespage.htm

http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/tonimorrison/bluest.htm

The rape scene with Cholly:

http://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1166&context=undergrad_rev

More on The Great Gatsby

This link discusses some random facts about the novel and the writer:

http://gothamist.com/2013/05/07/gatsby_facts.php

The Wire breaks down The Great Gatsby (There is some strong language here):

http://www.openculture.com/2012/08/ithe_wirei_breaks_down_ithe_great_gatsbyi_f_scott_fitzgeralds_classic_criticism_of_america_nsfw.html

Footage of Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda:

http://www.openculture.com/2012/11/rare_footage_of_scott_and_zelda_fitzgerald_from_the_1920s.html

http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/?action=click&contentCollection&region=TopBar&WT.nav=searchWidget&module=SearchSubmit&pgtype=Homepage#/THE GREAT GATSBY

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=the%20great%20gatsby

Race and The Great Gatsby:

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/06/rise-of-the-colored-empires/276844/

https://www.uscupstate.edu/uploadedFiles/Academics/Undergraduate_Research/Reseach_Journal/006_ARTICLE5_2009.pdf

http://flavorwire.com/391193/the-complicated-and-troubling-role-of-race-and-class-in-baz-luhrmanns-Gatsby

https://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/why-i-believe-that-jay-gatsby-was-black/153166.article

Babylon Revisited

Babylon Revisited

Criticism:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00144940.1990.9934031

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-94-007-0773-3_8?LI=true

Themes found in the story:

• Facing the consequences of one’s actions
• The struggle to change

Symbols found in the story:

• Honoria’s doll
• Snow

This link has some background information and criticism of the story (there is a lot of info here that could be used if you choose to write your first essay about this story):

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tdlarson/fsf/babylon/chap_3.htm

In the next two weeks we will discuss The Great Gatsby which “Babylon Revisited” shares many themes and issues with. Here is a short description of how they are similar:

“Babylon Revisited”: Similarity to The Great Gatsby
In both works, the main character is trying to create a new identity. In the case of Jay Gatsby, he has reinvented himself by a name change and by becoming rich through criminal acts to win Daisy. In Charlie’s instance, he has made a serious effort to reform to gain custody of Honoria.

Both The Great Gatsby and “Babylon Revisited” are also statements about the twenties, the pursuit of wealth and careless living of that generation. Gatsby’s pursuit of wealth, hoping it will bring him happiness and fulfillment, is the embodiment of the American Dream gone wrong. “Babylon Revisited” makes a statement not only about Charlie’s his personal dilemma but the irresponsible seeking of pleasure that was characteristic of the post-war Roaring Twenties generation.

From: http://vickie-britton.suite101.com/babylon-revisited-summary-and-analysis-a204727

NYTimes article:

http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/24/specials/fitzgerald-taps.html

America and Second Chances:
http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2009/09/19/history/post-perspective/f-scott-fitzgerald.html

https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/07/13/president-obama-announces-46-commutations-video-address-america-nation-second-chance

http://billmoyers.com/2014/10/31/america-really-believe-second-chances/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-second-chances-for-elites-only-perspec-1196-20141105-story.html

Themes found in the story:

 

·         Facing the consequences of one’s actions

·         The struggle to change

Symbols found in the story:

·         Honoria’s doll

·         Snow

 

1)   Explain Charlie's view of his own actions, his return to Paris, and his alcoholism.

 

2)   As readers, are we supposed to be on Marion's side, or on Charlie's side? Pick a side and explain.

 

3)   Explain the following quotes: "I heard that you lost a lot in the crash."

"I did," and he added grimly, "but I lost everything I wanted in the boom” (18).

“He would come back some day; they couldn't make him pay forever. But he wanted his child, and nothing was much good now, beside that fact.  He wasn't young any more, with a lot of nice thoughts and dreams to have by himself.  He was absolutely sure Helen wouldn't have wanted him to be so alone” (19).

4)    Symbolism is important in literature; what is symbolic about Helen’s death? Lorraine and Duncan?

 

“Babylon Revisited”: Similarity to The Great Gatsby

In both works, the main character is trying to create a new identity.

In the case of Jay Gatsby, he has reinvented himself by a name change and by becoming rich through criminal acts to win Daisy.

In Charlie’s instance, he has made a serious effort to reform to gain custody of Honoria.

Both The Great Gatsby and “Babylon Revisited” are also statements about the twenties, the pursuit of wealth and careless living of that generation. Gatsby’s pursuit of wealth, hoping it will bring him happiness and fulfillment, is the embodiment of the American Dream gone wrong. “Babylon Revisited” makes a statement not only about Charlie’s his personal dilemma but the irresponsible seeking of pleasure that was characteristic of the post-war Roaring Twenties generation.

It was in this spirit that Fitzgerald wrote one of his most frequently quoted lines: “There are no second acts in American lives.”

It is a lone sentence, without context, found among the pages for a novel he never finished. Yet journalists often quote it when writing about failure. The phrase has been widely interpreted to mean that America gives no second chances. The value of the statement rests on its being written by Fitzgerald, who is presumably something of an authority on lost opportunities (Nilsson).

The Great Gatsby

Taking a few mintues to read some background information on the author will enhance your understanding of the text.

Here are a few quotes to also think about from the text:
 “ Whenever you feel like criticizing any one…just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (1).

“”a single green light, minute and faraway, that might have been the end of a dock” (22).

”He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced–or seemed to face–the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself” (48).

“Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (60).

Article from class today on the green light:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/education/17gatsby.html?referrer=&_r=1

and one on the American Dream:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-usa-land-of-limitations.html?referrer=&_r=1

Babylon Revisited

Criticism:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00144940.1990.9934031

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-94-007-0773-3_8?LI=true

Themes found in the story:

• Facing the consequences of one’s actions
• The struggle to change

Symbols found in the story:

• Honoria’s doll
• Snow

This link has some background information and criticism of the story (there is a lot of info here that could be used if you choose to write your first essay about this story):

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tdlarson/fsf/babylon/chap_3.htm

In the next two weeks we will discuss The Great Gatsby which “Babylon Revisited” shares many themes and issues with. Here is a short description of how they are similar:

“Babylon Revisited”: Similarity to The Great Gatsby
In both works, the main character is trying to create a new identity. In the case of Jay Gatsby, he has reinvented himself by a name change and by becoming rich through criminal acts to win Daisy. In Charlie’s instance, he has made a serious effort to reform to gain custody of Honoria.

Both The Great Gatsby and “Babylon Revisited” are also statements about the twenties, the pursuit of wealth and careless living of that generation. Gatsby’s pursuit of wealth, hoping it will bring him happiness and fulfillment, is the embodiment of the American Dream gone wrong. “Babylon Revisited” makes a statement not only about Charlie’s his personal dilemma but the irresponsible seeking of pleasure that was characteristic of the post-war Roaring Twenties generation.

From: http://vickie-britton.suite101.com/babylon-revisited-summary-and-analysis-a204727

NYTimes article:

http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/24/specials/fitzgerald-taps.html

America and Second Chances:
http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2009/09/19/history/post-perspective/f-scott-fitzgerald.html

https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/07/13/president-obama-announces-46-commutations-video-address-america-nation-second-chance

http://billmoyers.com/2014/10/31/america-really-believe-second-chances/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-second-chances-for-elites-only-perspec-1196-20141105-story.html