How to Read like a college professor

Hamlet… and everything else

Your next essay….

• Compare and Contrast of literary works

•Hamlet and Brave New World

Two basic types

• GOOD- point by point comparison

• BAD- subject by subject comparison- DO NOT DO THIS it will result in a failing grade for not following directions.

Thesis

• This should reflect shared themes, concepts, symbolism and/or motifs.

• Character C&C are easy to mess up!– Avoid focus on physical appearance/gender– Stick to shared symbolism and experiences that

result in ???

Example thesis

• In the stories “Barn Burning” and “A Rose for Emily”, author William Faulkner explores what happens to individuals who lose their connection with society and its values. Once this connection is lost, they find themselves in a societal limbo, in which they no longer feel the need to conform and as a result, are free to violate traditional and moral values.

Sample #2

• For Anne Eliot, the heroine of Jane Austen’s Persuasion and Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte’s self titled governess, orphan status is what creates a strong-willed independent young woman. Anne and Jane each prove that she is nobody’s Cinderella, waiting for a prince to rescue her from a life of misery; life has taught her to form her own opinions and seek her own happiness.

Sample #3• Imagine a world, where gender dictated a person’s

future. Marriage and children were the only acceptable options. The single life was only for the unmarriageable. Up until the mid-twentieth century, career choices were limited for women and few were well paying. This can be a life of misery for many, but for those who choose to dictate their own future, marriage will be for love alone. Men, in the early novels of Willa Cather are not needed for fulfillment. The women of Alexander’s Bridge, O Pioneers! and My Antonia demonstrate an inner strength that defies hardship to find a place of their own.

Reading quiz today!- Grab an answer sheet

• You may use your homework if you have done it already…. NO SHARING!• You may use a book…. • Molly K trivia question to use the

instructor book……• You must finish by the end of class!

Bell Vocabulary 1.4• assuage v. To cause to be less harsh, violent,

or severe, as excitement, appetite, pain, or disease

• bedaub v. To smear over, as with something oily or sticky

• benison n. Blessing

• blithesome adj. Cheerful

How to Read like a College Professor

• Why???• Memory-– Beowulf (Unknown)– Eaters of the Dead- Michael Creighton– Outland- SciFi Channel “original”

• Symbol- culture, era• Pattern

The Quest- Self Knowledge

• Person- hero, villain….• Place to go… not always by choice• Reason to go- stated openly• Challenges faced on the way• Real reason to go- self discovery

Eating…..• Act of communion- not always holy- how do

the participants really feel?• Eating- sharing, kinship, loyalty• Dinner turns ugly…– Burnt? Undercooked? Microwaved leftovers?– Who refuses to eat?– Formal? Relaxed– Who is there?– Secondary occasions?– Poisonings???

Vampires!.... And ghosts too…

• At first glance…. Charming, physically attractive, dangerous.

• By the end… life-sucking, selfish jerk that simply makes a person tired.– Gets stronger by making others weak– Co-dependency

• Mission? Why can’t they rest?• Is not always a person.

Spotting Parallels

• Only “one” Story…. All the rest is a borrowed disguised hand-me-down.• Religious text• Shakespeare• Fairy Tales• Classical Text• Success/Failure?

Religious text…..But not always Judeo Christian…

• Adam and Eve–Loss of innocence-Temptation-“pioneer”

–Sibling rivalry???? Cain and Abel–Natural Disaster? Noah’s Ark

–East of Eden, Pale Rider, The Sun Also Rises… anything with an Apocalypse

Baptism and Christ figures• Water… again… but not always

water. This time the person doesn’t drown.–Rebirth–No going back to the “old”

character- good or bad–Narrow escapes/ ordeals

Not Christian ….. No problem

• Crucifixion wounds• Agony• Self-sacrificing• Good with children• Healer• Works with hands• Humble transport• Miracles

• Bread, fish, water and wine

• Combats evil• Resurrection• Forgiving• Disciples• Time in the

Wilderness

samples

• Han Solo- Star Wars• Sheriff Rick – The Walking Dead• Ellen Ripley -Alien

• Non European/American works…Buddha Figures…..

The Bard…has become common• “to thine own self be true”• “double, double, toil and trouble”• “something wicked this way comes”• “O brave new world, that has such people in it”• Why Shakespeare? • Why quote him?

Fairy Tales….

• Reflections of society• Evil Queens (mother in-laws)• Orphans (death)• Supernatural • Socio-economic inequality• Binary opposites• Happy endings????

Let’s practice• Using the provided fairy tale….– Identify as many universal themes as you can.– Underline/highlight any symbolic figures and/or

metaphors… you should find at least 10• Create a list of at least five with detailed

explanations as to why the examples fit the categories chosen.• Turn it in when finished!

– Points for identification– Points for explanation

Turn in your final copy of the Immigration essay! Staple the draft and peer reviews to the

back.Bell Vocabulary 2.1

• bellicose adj. Warlike

• bulwark n. Anything that gives security or defense

• caitiff adj. Cowardly

Mythology…. Greek, Roman, Norse…• Pre-scientific• Explain the unknown• Still borrowed…• Icarus and Daedalus– Escape from Alcatraz– Count of Monte Cristo– Shawshank Redemption

• Troy- Taken• Perseus and the Minotaur- Return of the Jedi

Weather and Seasons

• Rain– Forces people

together–Uncomfortable, misery–Cleansing- good and

bad• Removes delusions

–Revitalizes, Regrowth–Drowns

• Fog–Stranded–Gridlock–Miasma–Mental/Ethical–Murky –secretive

Seasons

• Age• Life Cycles• Mood/emotion• Seasonal naming• Foods and activities• Mud season?• Reversed or non-existent?

Physical “Damage”- Marked for Greatness

• Marginalized or unique?• Interior and exterior defects• Fake stuff• Metaphors- How does the affliction affect the

plot and the character?• Scoliosis= twisted mind??

Missing and extra senses

• Blind/deaf characters– What is unseen? What is unsaid?– What is often mistaken about people who are deaf

or blind?– How can they accentuate metaphorical blindness

or deafness in other characters?• Psychic characters

Disease, Death and Dying

• “broken heart” or “lack of heart”• Drowning• Jumpers• Suicides• Disfiguring diseases• “Karma” diseases

Literary disease

• It should be picturesque• It should be mysterious• It should have strong symbolism

• Doc Holiday and Tuberculosis

Violence

• Specific types of injuries- stabbing, shooting, burning alive…

• Killing off characters– Motive- power, greed, “love”– Effect on others- revenge, relief

– Serial works… Reichs, King, Koontz

politics• Defining social class• Society’s ills- industrialization• Warfare• Soapbox for a specific age/venue• Often satirical• Historical literature– Dickens– Stowe– Swift– Austen

Geography and meaning• Topography- Caves, mountains,

deserts, rivers….• Architecture- Bridge, arch,

highways, cobblestone streets• Landscape- rural, urban• Direction- North, South….• Culture???? Where and WHEN

are you?

Flight=Freedom• Superheroes• Ski jumpers/snow boarders• Crazy• Fictional• Suspended• Angel• Heavenly symbolic• On the run/Trying to escape

Things to consider…

• Do your works have significant parallels?• Does your thesis specifically address these

parallels?• Have you provided significant evidence to support

the comparisons and contrasts? Aka- QUOTES• Have you explained the causes/effects for the

similarities/differences?• Do you have an appropriate and creative title?

Practice

• Read your story• Identify and explain the significance of three

literary elements found in the reading.• Remember! Explain your choices, simply

stating “a boy and a girl are binary opposites” is not enough….. Why is it significant to the story.

• 3 solid paragraphs with details