American Literature at Moscow State University

Exam Questions

2008-06-02T03:13:00.000-07:00

Be sure to return "Studies in American Literature" on June 11. If you fail to bring the book, you won't be allowed to take the exam.

1. Naturalism in writing, "The Second Choice" as a naturalistic work.

2. Peculiarities of E. Hemingway’s style.Hemingway’s principles of short story writing: traditions and innovations.(Be prepared to show examples of it from the stories we read).

3. E. Hemingway as a representative of “the lost generation” writers.

4. Themes and plot structure in “Dry September” and "Rose for Emily" by W.Faulkner.

5. The peculiarities of narration in T. Dreiser’s “The Second Choice”.

6. Symbols and their role in “The Great Gatsby”.

7. Themes and conflicts in “The Great Gatsby”.

8. American Dream in "The Great Gatsby"

9. Means of characterization in “The Great Gatsby”: speech portrayals, appearance, clothes, actions, names, thoughts. Speech portrayals and their roles in “The Great Gatsby”.

10. Flapper Culture in “The Great Gatsby”.

11. Plot structure and themes in "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck.

12. "Flowers for Algernon" by D.Keyes: style, themes, story vs.novel.

13. Salinger's stories: themes, plot structure, characters.

14. Robert Frost's poetry: peculiarities, themes

Be ready to talk about the following characters:
Shirley in "The Second Choice",
Barton in "The Second Choice",
Miss Minnie Cooper in "Dry September",
the barber in "Dry September",
Emily in "Rose for Emily"
Jay Gatsby in "The Great Gatsby",
Daisy Buchanan in "The Great Gatsby",
Nick Carraway in "The Great Gatsby",
George from "Of Mice and Men",
Lennie from "Of Mice and Men".
Charlie Gordon from "Flowers for Algernon@.

Be ready to explain the distinguishing characteristics of realism, naturalism, and regionalism.
Be ready to compare and contrast the writing styles of the authors.
Be ready to explain the following terms: Roaring Twenties, The Great Depression, The Dust Bowl, Flappers.
Be ready to answer the question based on the readings you missed.
At the examination you are allowed to use the literary texts under analysis.

Exemptions: I would like to officially exempt Anna Karpova and Olga Ryabova (no classes missed, active engagement) from the exam procedures with an A. Yevgeniya can automatically get a B unless she wants to have a higher grade.

May 13/14, Keyes, Flowers for Algernon

2008-05-07T00:10:00.000-07:00

1. Read the story "Flowers for Algernon"

Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes. The short story was first published in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960.^[1] The novel was published in 1966 and was joint winner of that year's Nebula Award for Best Novel (with Babel-17).^[2]

The titular Algernon is a laboratory mouse who has undergone surgery to increase his intelligence. The story is told as a series of "progress reports" written by Charlie, the first human test subject for the surgery, and touches upon many different ethical and moral themes such as the treatment of the mentally disabled. (Source: wikipedia.org)

Optional: the novel in audio format can be found at http://englishtips.org

The Oxford Book of Amercan Poetry

2008-05-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

can be downloaded from
http://www.zshare.net/download/11539446e64e6d53/

password: englishtips.org

May 5/6: J.D.Salinger (1919-)

2008-04-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

1. Salinger Biography

2. Stories: Teddy, Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut

2008-04-24T05:02:00.000-07:00

1. Robert Frost Information (1874-1963)

2. Poems:
"The Road Not Taken "
"Acquainted with the Night"
"Fire and Ice "
"Mending Wall"
"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"
"The Sound of the Trees"

3. Dr.Weinstein's lecture on Frost and Lecture # 2 at Yale University (quiz will be based on both lectures)

April 21/22: another 2 Stories by Hemingway

2008-04-15T00:03:00.000-07:00

1. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber + The Snows of Kilimanjaro. (text and audio).

2. Be ready for the quiz on the Hemingway style, the iceberg theory and his biography.

* A collection of Hemingway's 7 Best Stories (including audio files).

April 14/15: Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

2008-04-10T02:24:00.000-07:00

1. Ernest Hemingway biography by Jamie Allen (CNN)

2. Short Stories: “A Canary for One”, "Hills Like White Elephants",
"Cat in the Rain" (texts and audio)

3.On the Hemingway style: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-178,pageNum-76.html

Optional: http://www.timelesshemingway.com/

Group 3 CCC Web Sites Presentation

2008-04-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the winners: Julia Maltseva ("The Zoo Story" project) and Arina Kozhukhar+Natalya Vorobyeva ("The Old Man and the Sea" project).
Check out the winners' web sites http://thezoostory.ucoz.ru
and http://oldmanandsea.ucoz.ru/

Group 2 Tr. Web Sites Presentation

2008-04-07T08:42:00.001-07:00

Our congratulations to the winners Anna Pukhina, Anna Karpova and Olga Ryabova!
Check out the winners' web site http://www.fahrenheit-451.by.ru/

April 7/8: John Steinbeck

2008-03-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

1. Steinbeck Biography + History of Migrat Workers in California
2. Of Mice and Men (45 pages)

March 31/April 1: Web Sites Presentation

2008-03-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

This post is to remind you that on March 31 (Group 2 Tr.) and April 1 (Group 3CCC) we'll have a presentation of your web projects. It will take place in Room 107-108 (2 Tr.) and in Room 503 (3 CCC).

1. Each student has to evaluate each web site of his/her groupmates according to the following criteria:

Please be sure to print out these forms and fill them in for each web site (including your own).

2. Prepare a 10-15 min. group presentation of your web site that would cover the subject matter, information structure, sources, and the way you worked on a project as a team.

3. There will be prizes, too!!!

Best of luck!
A.V.

March 24/25: Awakening from the American Dream in "The Great Gatsby"

2008-03-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

We'll be talking about the novel's themes and motifs (i.e. recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text's major themes). So, please think in terms of geography and weather.

Jazz Icarus (1913) by Henri Matisse
Image Source: www.artland.co.uk/1_Jazz_Icarus_1913_SA010_P.JPG

1. What aspects of the 1920s American society do places and settings epitomize (East Egg, West Egg, the valley of ashes, New York City, the East vs. the West)?
2. How does the weather match the emotional and narrative tone of the story (Gatsby and Daisy's reunion, their love reawakening, Gatsby's confrontation with Tom, the day of Gatsby's death)?
3. Think about the symbols in the novel (the green light, the valley of ashes, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg). What concepts do they represent?

Also, "The Great Gatsby" being a sobering and even ominous commentary on the dark side of the American dream, we'll be tackling Gatsby's vision of the 1920's American Dream.

1.What do we understand by the American dream?
2.The houses in the novel serve as indices of social success and taste. How does the description of Gatsby's monstrously ornate house characterize his owner?
3.What led to Gatsby's downfall? How did his pure dream become corrupted?
4. Why do we sympathize with him?

Please listen to the mp3 lecture "Lecture 57 - Fitzgerald's Triumph_ Writing the American Dream" by Dr.Arnold Weinstein (Brown University) from his series "Classics of American Literature" . It's 30 min long.

Our First Web Sites

2008-03-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

Our first web sites have been created!!!
Congratulations to
Julia M. http://thezoostory.ucoz.ru/
George and Alex http://fahrenheit.do.am/
Catherine http://zoratheireyes.ucoz.ru/
Arina and Natasha http://oldmanandsea.ucoz.ru/
Sveta http://fenimore.web-box.ru/index.html
Lera http://greatgatsby.ucoz.ru/
Natasha http://catchme.ucoz.com/

Group 2 Tr: Anna Sh. (web designer), Anna M., Rita & Yevgeniya http://www.geocities.com/pedgar38/Poe.html
Anna P. (web designer), Olga R. and Anna K. http://www.fahrenheit-451.by.ru/
Kristina, Nikita and Vlad
http://flappergirl.do.am

Students, We've talked about host services for your web sites - www.narod.ru, www.ucoz.ru that have nice templates, but sometimes their templates have a certain layout (colors, scripts, types) that makes one strain the eyes. When putting your web site together, please think about your reader as well. In this respect, http://geocities.yahoo.com/ can give your site a less sophisticated look, but it's very easy to navigate and read.

Image by Paulo Buchinho. Image Source: http://www.imagezoo.com/collections/pbibu/public/samples/Dpbu0006.jpg

March 10/11: The Great Gatsby chapters 6-9

2008-03-05T03:42:00.000-08:00

1. Characters in “The Great Gatsby”: speech portrayals, appearance, clothes, actions, names, thoughts.
2.. Discussion will be based on the questions from "Studies in American Literature" by Dr.S.V.Titova (pp.27-29) and the "Story of Lost Illusions"by Dr.Weinstein. (another link for downloading the lecture - http://www.zshare.net/download/9019516c93e645/)

Family album snapshot of Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896-1940) and his wife Zelda sitting outside on lawn at her mother's home, January 1921. Image Source: http://tinyurl.com/yunwje

3. Watch the documentary below

For 3CCC: request

2008-03-03T06:42:00.000-08:00

Students,
I've just looked at your blogs. Could you please post information and links to the materials relevant to your would-be sites that you have already accumulated. Thanks!

Creative Writing: Our Choices for 'The Second Choice" by Th.Dreiser

2008-02-27T04:52:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we read a short story "Second Choice" by Theodore Dreiser which stirred quite a discussion in class. So, the students were offered to look at the situation from a different perspective and to write secret diaries of some characters (the author presented them as somewhat flat). Below you can find apocryphal notes from the secret journal of Arthur, Barton, Shirley's friends and parents.

Summary: Shirley, the central character, has just received a farewell letter from a young man, Arthur Bristow, whom she had been seeing for several months. He had flirted with her and flattered her, and she had idealized him, telling herself "everything which was worth happening in love had happened" with Arthur. After some soul-searching, she settles for Barton, who dotted on her and who could provide her with a decent future. The only thing is that she doesn't love him and knows what life with Barton will have in store for her. She realizes that it will be routine that she saw as the same dull neighborhood, with women making the same breakfast every morning, and the men sitting on porches in the evenings, reading the newspapers in the same, expected, dreary way.

Whose diaries do you find the most impressive and why? Who, in your opinion, managed to create a totally new approach to the whole situation described by Dreiser?

THE SECRET DIARY OF ARTHUR BRISTOW

13 November
Yesterday, I met a wonderful girl – Shirley, Shirl I’d like her to call. Mabel said she was half-engaged to a Barton Williams (who’s that?!), but for me it doesn’t matter. I want her and that’s all I know. She seemed to be charmed by my boldness. Don’t think it will be a problem to win her heart. Anyway, she’s nice and quite satisfactory to pass some time with. And damn Barton Williams!!!

25 December
Shirley seems to suit me. She is terribly boring, though. All her life is shuttling to and fro her work and her house (pouff!). Maybe that’s why she considers me the Providence that brought some new breath to her stuffy life? Ha-ha, she looks at me like a dog at its master. Sometimes a thought comes to my mind that if I told her to abandon her parent’s house and become a prostitute she would so… Only because I told her to do it. Or, maybe she wouldn’t – in spite of all her affection for me, she is too much concerned about her future. Humpf, I should give it a thought…

27 December
I thought over Shirl’s concern about the future and the recent conversation with her proved what I was worrying about – she sees no future for herself than marriage to some nice guy (ME???).

4 January
After being bewildered for a while by Shirl’s intensions from me, now, I’m absolutely easy about us. Mabel told me, she is still continuing her relations with this Barton. As Mabel sees him, he’s an ideal match for Shirley – he’s as doggedly in love with her as she is with me. So, my plan is to keep her beside me as long as it pleases me and then – push her in the open arms of that namby-pamby Barton!

16 March
Yesterday, Shirl told me a very interesting thing. She was dreaming about going to some unknown country to start a new life – no mind-numbingly boring work, no bothering parents, no anything from the present life! It was quite a surprise for me to listen to her talking such things. She also said she regrets not becoming an actress, admired by hundreds of men and envied by hundreds of women. Funny she! It’s the “adventure bug” she caught going out with me, eh? Or it’s just a masquerade on her part to disguise her own flatness? Mm…

23 June
I don’t know what’s going on with me. All this time I was just too afraid to go deeper in my soul to face my own affection for Shirley. I think about her every second as I breathe. I never thought love would be like that, especially for me – who has never been really in love. What should I do? Marriage?! What a strong word! But what else? What else…? I need to meet her.

5 July
She is so amazingly beautiful, my dear Shirley (I hope, she doesn’t know what tenderness towards her I feel). Sometimes, when we are together, I feel as if I was reborn. But it’s something not for Shirl’s knowledge. At moments, it seems to me I don’t even know myself. Or, what I know is too disgusting to believe in. I can’t marry her!!! Simply because this will bring end to my freedom. She wants to make a family, to have children. I can’t offer her any of these things. I’m too selfish, maybe, but that’s what I really am.

11 July
Hey boy, where’s my old Arthur? Come on, that’s enough! It’s time to do away with this crazy affection. Otherwise, you’ll become the same with this sentimental Barton Williams (Oh, Jesus!).

27 September
I still love her but I try to be more and more apart to make her understand that soon everything will be over. It was my decision. Very difficult indeed. Why did I decide so? - I’m not the one who would appreciate the of life she’s used to. And one day, my dreams will lead us in the middle of nowhere – no stability, which is too risky for her, I can’t admit it. What I can give her is not what she deserves, too little my forces are. The best thing is to quit. Right now. She will be sad for a couple of weeks but then she’ll find comfort in her old good Barton, and they will live happily ever after.

28 September
I’ve met a pretty girl, Miranda her name is. She’s silly but with a handsome face, just right for me to get over Shirley. At least, for some time.
It’s time to say the last goodbye to my dear Shirl, the only true love of my life. I hate myself, but she’ll never learn what feelings she has awaken in my damned soul. Sorry, sweetheart, I don’t merit you. And it’s better for you to consider me a wretch. Sorry, love…

Retrieved by Anna Karpova
**********************************
May (year 1st)
It feels so wrong... Absolutely excruciating. The very thought of that everything had ended and goes on inertially, ruined my sleep completely. I spent the whole night looking out of the window, trying to find at least one shining star in the sky, but I failed to find any.
Sometimes I think of myself as a monstrous cretin, or a perfect arrogant fool, so useless and abject, being unable to have true feelings.
She loves me so tenderly and selflessly that I cry when I recall it. As if her eyes start sparkling when she sees me - I can feel it! - and she becomes happy. Really happy, just because of being with me. How weak and pathetic I am not to be able to give her the same. I can only write her letters expressing my false love.
It's no use asking God who is wrong and who is right in this world as he will never answer. But it's better to taste the bitter truth rather than fool oneself, believing in something that never existed.
I shall continue my journey without her. Probably, she won't be able to recover for long if I tell her, so I'd better leave her and pretend I'm missing. As if I was killed somewhere. Or I drowned. Or whatever could happen in this unreasonable world.

September (year 1st)
My anxiety is gradually fading away. Probably, Shirley has already forgotten about me. But how am I supposed to free myself of that burden in my heart? I have sinned and need to be punished by Heaven. I feel that the day of retrubution is going to come so soon...

October (year 1st)
Now I know what true love is. I thought that I am not among those who deserve to fall in love with somebody one day, but it finally happened. I can't find the words to say how glad and devastated I am at once.
But now I fully realize what I've done to Shirley. I am even more disgusting than I thought. It's horrible... absolutely horrible.

November (year 1st)
Today Annie said she loved me too. It's impossible to fancy. I'm ineffably free, floating in the morning orange sky with you. You're so special that I can't resist you. You're superior. I fail to describe how you look – you are so bright that I can't even imagine your face – just your shining azure eyes, full of love, faith and understanding, spark inside my head. I feel so worthless in front of you. Thank you for being so kind to me. I'm happy, crying all the night. Whatever happens, I will never forget you.

December (year 1st)
If there ever was a poet or a writer who really managed to describe this feeling, I would hardly believe it. In these best moments of your life it's impossible to write anything. You just sense how happy you are and wish the days could stop slipping by, so that both of you keep each other suspended in time.
I'll stop here, my beloved is waiting for me. But I feel a bit uneasy... I don't deserve the love of such an ideal woman.

January (year 2nd)
Today might be the beginning of the end. Annie suddenly started crying when we were holding each other's hands, and then said she was unsure if she really loved me. She asked me to give her some time to think it over. I guess this must be the punishment which I've been waiting for. It's unreal to think of something more agonizing.

(added later, the same day)
She was crying all the time I was with her. It is inconceivable for me to understand how she feels, but deep inside, in the heart of hearts, I'm being annihilated by my own destroying thoughts.

February (year 2nd)
She seems even more confused now. She was crying again when I came to her.
Annie, sweetie, you know how I love you. But if you feel like leaving, I am not the one who will force you to stay with me. You've taught me what it means to be free.

March (year 2nd)
Early morning.
I'm standing on a wooden bridge above a small river with an unknown name. Dear Annie, how thoughtful of you it was to give me some time to realize that you need to go. I can almost see your face now, and your silhouette, dressed in white, standing somewhere between the horizon and the sun.
You've given me happiness worth of a lifetime. I can say I am a real man now. I am constantly pushing my limits to become at least half as bright as you. But now you are far away... And suffering makes me stronger.

As I look around, I notice the arrival of Spring. It is getting warmer, the snow is melting, and, surrounded by newborn grass, the snowdrops have appeared. Boundless greenish space... I can feel the light breeze on my cheeks.
The voice of freedom, aren't you? You can go away now.
Looking at all that happy little universe around me made me suffer even more. How perfect the world is as a whole, and how worthless I am as its part.
The birds are flying beneath the azure sky which reminds me so much of your eyes, the sound of gushing water, the flowers all around...
How meaningless it has become for me without you.

Retrieved by George Buntilov
****************************************

BARTON'S SECRET JOURNAL

September 11
Oh, what a day I have had! It started out as miserable, with gray raindrops trickling down my collar (how I detest that feeling!) and my breakfast, warm, luscious-smelling, carefully packed by Gramps left on the kitchen table. To top it all off, work seemed perfectly annoying, with the dispatcher a rumbling thunder-cloud, sending me running around doing errands for him, and sullen, churlish customers. Most disagreeable, indeed. But as supper-time was approaching, She appeared at the telegraph-window, oh! My celestial light, my sweetest maiden endowed me with the honor to behold her godlike face, to gaze into her starlike eyes and to hear her spill precious words from her honey - like lips. She smiled at me and greeted me ever so cheerfully, the twinkling of her voice scattering along the train-platform and coming back stronger, ringing in my ears, making me dizzy (perhaps a case of nausea from malnutrition had something to do with that, too). We made some small talk and then I gathered my courage (oh, will I ever overcome my shyness in her presence?) and asked her for a date – at the pictures. Shirley smiled her entrancing smile again and brought quite a sweat to my brow by holding a pause – and then agreed. Of course. It’s still a trifle hard sometimes to accept that she is mine. But I almost believe in it now, just almost.
Supper was divine, Gramps outdid herself. I’m in good sorts now; perhaps I’ll head off to Charlie’s Bar with the boys. Got to keep up the socializing, chuckle chuckle.
Well, diary, old chap, see you later.

September 15
Today was the day I took Shirley to the pictures. It started out great – I got a tad nervous while trying to coordinate my tie and shirt at home, but I sent the lady in fits of laughter with a stack of puns. I helped her into the car ever so gallantly and treated her to an ice and coffee before heading off to see the movie. Soon enough I sensed a hint of feverishness and absentmindedness in the way she talked – her mind wandered off in the middle of my hilarious story about a clerk in my office – but she said she was sorry in such a sweet way that I let go of my doubts. All in all, I’m sure I did show her a great time after all. Though – it seemed to me she was a little too hasty to kiss me goodbye, but Shirley’s such a little hothead at times. Ah, my girl.
I’m swooning happy right now, and I don’t even feel like having dinner (it’s steak and potatoes night today). But proper nutrition is the key to success in business and energy-inducing matters, like being in love.

October 12
Evening diary, my pal… I need to share with someone my feeling of utter devastation. I’m dumbstruck by the way my star of heavens has been treating me lately. She has turned down dozens of dates, laughs absent-mindedly when I am not telling jokes and generally behaves in a peculiar, childish way. Her beauty is blooming now – brighter than life itself, rosy cheeks and glittering eyes and dreamy lips – but oh, now they escape me! They avoid me! Why does she keep me in suspense? In the dark? How much longer will it be before my sun turns back to shine on me again?
Oh Shirley! Do heal my ripping heart!

October 20
The efforts I’ve been putting into work have paid off – I am getting an increase in my monthly income. I feel proud and very pleased with myself and the scrumptious pancake-dinner Gramps cooked for me to celebrate my small success. But one thought still darkens my brow – where is my enigmatic beloved? I called her house today, and it was not her silvery voice that answered but her father’s. He said she was out – oh! Where could she be? O despair!

(…)

November 27
Who could have ever thought that angel, the fairest maiden that walks this sinful earth to be capable of lying? To me - the one who cherishes every breath she takes and every furrowing of her brows? She made a date with me – I fled, carried by the divine wings of true emotion and landed on her porch in half an hour, trembling in excitement. What a shock was I to experience! Shirley, who had faithfully promised to spend a cozy evening with me – had gone out! With a pesky admirer, I believe. Am I of no value to her after all? Isn’t my heart good enough to play with? Ah Shirley! Ah humanity!

December 30
Merry belated Christmas, diary buddy! Now that the festivities are over, I am beginning to get a tad lonely – work has let out, and now I have time on my hands – and no-one to squander it on. I had met a pretty girl, Leslie, at the annual Christmas Postal Workers` Ball – danced with her a couple of times, but she appears to be so dull in comparison to Shirley! I know – I have resolved to forget her – to give her space and time for thought. She probably lied to me for fear of hurting my feelings, the confused little thing. I shall not get in her way any more – but her ghost is close to me – it will be so for an eternity, I fear. Crawl back in your rotten soul-hole, pain.

February 18
Heavens! Stars! Lights of yore! She has descended back, I believe. Oh yes – I do believe! I prayed soundlessly as I sat to eat supper this evening – a tear or two even making their way into my watercress salad, bitter by itself (I have begun dieting). Shirley – yes, it really was her – came to send a telegraph at my office today! She smiled and talked to me kindly, looking beautiful as ever – eyes tender, frail and gloriously aglitter. She spoke softly – I sensed that she was pleased to see me – and a little sad. Perhaps she resents hurting me! Perhaps she wants to be at my side! She accepted a date – I am taking her to the Postal Workers` Corporate Dance. She said she hadn’t seen the guys – our friends, yes, our – for what seemed like ages. She looked like she was anxious to go – could that be true? She was so coy – and then she trembled and her eyes sparkled furiously – her feelings must have been so overwhelming – she even forgot to write the telegraph. Precious angelic girl, I’m going lengths to make you mine.
Oh joy!

Retrieved by Julia Maltseva

**********************************
Dear diary,
Let me share with you my happiness! I think I’m the luckiest man on this planet.
Oh, Shirley, my lovely girl! You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen in my life! You’ve got everything to be the perfect one! You’re nice, you’re kind, you’re attractive! And we’re so happy together! And we will, we will certainly be happy till the end of our days! I’ll do everything to make you happy! I promise I’ll be the best husband! Dear diary, I desire my lovely Shir not to change her mind… she won’t…she certainly loves me… She allowed to half assume that she would be my wife! Shirley Williams. It sounds so pleasant!...

Today’s Thanksgiving eve… I won’t be able to spend it with my dear Shirley.. too busy at work… I’m so exhausted here. Sometimes I even think that I live here, in the Great Eastern terminal. Of course I would rather spend this eve with my love, but I know I have to work. Or Shirley won’t marry me! I promised her by the time she becomes my spouse I will have bought a little cottage for us…so I have to work
Hope she won’t miss me. She told me that Mabel Gove had asked her to come over to her house in Westleigh. Shir sounded rather strange…Oh, damn these thoughts! She just misses me, that’s all. I have to concentrate on my work.

Yesterday I felt something strange. Shirley's behavior was unusual. I thought she didn’t like that I couldn’t spend an eve with her, but … I don’t know…something mysterious appeared in her eyes after this evening, something that I don’t like…

Shir’s behaviour horrifies me! Doesn’t she love me anymore?... But why? What’s wrong? I often buy her flowers and candies, I calling on her and take her to many places…
Of course, I do work much, but it is all for her! For our happy future! Should I give her more attention? Won’t I be too annoying?

Dear diary,
I’m lost in my thoughts…My Shirley…My lovely Shir…Every second I am waiting long and patiently for each little favor from her side, but nothing…it is all so hard to take in mind but… Yes!, I think she has a new fellow she doesn’t want to tell me about…It’s so hard, it’s so hard!

I had been waiting for this talk for a long time. Finally we quarreled.
I stopped by the store to see her, as she had told me that I might come Wednesday. I was so excited!!!
I came to her place, but she wasn’t in. I’ve been sitting with her parents until ten thirty, and then, a few days later, although she had written to me to apologize, I called on her at the store to complain, because I couldn’t bear this anymore! I’m not a little boy to be treated like that! To wait for her for so long when she’s walking somewhere with some fellow!? No! I asked her about him! And what did she answer?! Do I desire this?! “I don’t belong to you, do I?” I love you Shirley, but if you don’t want me anymore – it’s your decision! I appreciate you and that’s your choice… Oh, Shirley, Shirley, my lovely girl!...

Dear diary,
It’s been almost a week since I last wrote in here. I am living my life without Shirley, I am trying to get used to it, but every minute I catch myself thinking about her. I could give her everything she deserved. I wish I could see her new fellow… Why did she choose him? Hope he’s the one she deserves…

Dear diary,
Lately I’ve made my mind to start to live a new life. Of course, it is a hard decision for me, but I realize that all the thoughts of Shirley are shattering my future into pieces. I will try to forget her. I will burn all the things that remind me of her, including you, my diary. But I think still she will stay in my heart like a single sun-ray in my dark routine life.

Retrieved by Arina Kozhukhar
******************************
•I’m Barton Williams. I am starting my diary today, because some time ago I really fell in love with a gorgeous and cute girl. Her name is Shirley. I want to write down my feelings and some events hereto remember them for a long time.

•I’m the happiest person in the world - I love Shirley so much that I’d like to marry her and I feel that we are made for each other and I have guess-work that she’ll marry me some day and all my dreams will come true.

•Unfortunately, I should recognize that now we meet not so often as before, I even don’t understand the reason. I remember all the time how we were going to the theatre, were walking along the river and talking to each other about everything. But I don’t worry. I know that everything will be ok and we will be happy.

•Contrary to my expectations, we finally quarreled with Shirley. We had decided to meet up, but then she postponed our meeting for another day and disappeared. I went to the house and sat with her parents until ten-thirty but she didn’t come. She even didn’t send a word. I wanted to solve this problem because I understood that it wasn’t a misunderstanding - she had somebody else. I realized that practically everything that Shirley told me was an outrageous lie, but I don’t want to believe it. Why? Why? I was so kind to her, attentive and patient. I did everything that she wanted, brought her candies, flowers, everything… What’s wrong with me? Maybe I have no luck…

•I’m working a lot these days and I expect to see Shirley, but it seems to me that she's vanished without a trace. I even went to the old card-parties where we used to meet and have a good time, but she wasn’t there. I hope I’ll see her one day, I really like her and I’ll open my heart to her one more time.

•It’s a miracle that she came to the station and soon I guessed that she had come to see me and not just to send a telegram. I was really upset when she told me that she had been using the other door to arrive at the station or to get on the Langdon Avenue car. It was clear that she wanted to avoid me. Before, as I remember, she made time to stop or meet me occasionally, but since then a lot has changed.
This sudden situation and our conversation reminded me of our adventures, how we were going to the theatre. And suddenly I felt that she noticed what I was thinking about and I was a little bit confused.
She is so beautiful, even prettier than before, and I tried to do something not to let her go. It was my last chance and I invited her to the theatre. She said «no» and my heart sank. Luckily, she invited me to come to her house. I did my best to win her sympathy back and, to my mind, I've succeeded in that.
Is it possible that she would like to turn over a new leaf with me? That we’ll get married eventually? I’ll be the happiest person in the world and I’ll be able to achieve our dreams and to make Shirley the best wife in the world.

Retrieved by Anna Matveecheva
**********************************
Entry 1.
I think it’s time to start a diary to write about my feelings. The best period of my life has finally come. I’m in love with the girl of my dream… what else can one desire? I have already met her parents. If everything goes fine between the two of us, I’ll marry her, because I know if I don’t, I will be unhappy till the end of my days. Many people are looking for love and long for being loved. And I’m very lucky I've met Shirley. God has helped me.

Entry 2.
Probably, there’s a spell on this diary. As soon as I started it, everything went wrong. We’ve fallen apart. I’m the most miserable man in the world! Why did she act like this? Was it my mistake? Was it my fault that she lost interest in me? Or was it because of that fellow she preferred not to talk about? She should have warned me in advance if she wasn’t going to come! I suppose it’s more likely that the cause of that was that fellow… Anyway, my heart is broken. But… what if it’s not the end of our relationship? What if it’s just a turning point? No, no… who am I trying to deceive, it’s all over. I’m all alone at the railway station, it seems as if she was trying to avoid this place. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, as somebody said, maybe that’s the point here. She didn’t kill me, that’s why she made me stronger. That must be just a lesson for me. Yes, it may be a big mistake, but if she comes back to me, that would be great.

Entry 3.
Today I was given a chance. And I didn’t miss it! I have a date on Sunday! She is even prettier than before! Strange, but I’m again in love with her! After so much time I had spent thinking what a miserable man I was, she just came to the station where I work and agreed to go out with me. However, something tells me that something is wrong here. Why did she come back? Does she really love me, or did she do it because of shrewdness? I don’t really know what to think about it… It happened so suddenly. But my heart tells me to go for it and be happy again. I really love her, I love her with all my heart and she seems to love me, too! Now I’m convinced that she loves me! That’s my only chance to be happy in this life. I can be happy only with her and no one else in this world. It would be silly of me to think otherwise. I hope everything will go fine and I’ll be lucky enough to become her husband.

Retrieved by Alex Fillipov
*********************************************
Dear Diary,
I must confess to you that I’ve fallen in love. The girl of my dreams is named Shirley, and she’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. I’ve never felt such feelings for anyone else before.

***
Dear Diary,
Shirley is being very nice to me and She’s making me the happiest man in the world. I think that not only am I in love with her, but I love her. I feel we are made for each other and I’d like to marry her. I hope that my dreams will come true one day.

***
Dear diary,
Unfortunately something is going wrong in my relationship with Shirley. We don’ meet as often as we used to, and I don’t understand the reason. I miss the times when we were going out together often. Now it’s so different. I wonder what I’ve done wrong. I hope that soon everything will be the way it used to be, so I try not to worry too much.

***
Dear diary,
An unbelievable thing happened yesterday. Seems like Shirley doesn’t like me anymore. We had arranged to meet, but then she postponed our date, and I’ve heard nothing from her since then. I went over to her place and spent the whole evening with her parents, waiting for her to turn up. But by 10:30 she hadn’t arrived yet, and I already had to leave. I realized that it wasn’t merely a misunderstanding. I feel she’s going out with somebody else. That means everything we’ve had has been fake! Why does it have to be like this? What’s wrong with me? What have I done wrong? I thought I was treating her so nicely, doing everything she wanted, giving her presents, taking her out, ready to give her all my attention… I feel frustrated.

***
Dear diary,
I haven’t seen Shirley for a very long time, and I wonder if I ever see her again. I’ve already been checking for her at those old card-parties where we used to meet. What a lovely time it was! She’s always in my thoughts, I still love her dearly, and if she ever decides to come back to me, I’ll be happy to welcome her back. Yes, love’s got no pride.

***
Dear diary,
You won’t believe what’s happened. Shirley came to the station yesterday. I understood that she had come not to end a telegram, but to see me. There was a brief conversation… Her sudden appearing and this talk made me remember all the things we used to do, and I think she noticed that I was thinking about this (no wonder, It was written in my face!). She’s so beautiful, seems like she gets more beautiful every day.
I understood that that situation was my last chance not to let her slip away. So I invited her to the theatre. When she said “no”, my heart sank. But then she invited me to come to her house.
I wonder if it is possible that she wants to start our relationship over again? I swear that if she does, I’ll forget all the pain she’s put me through. I have serious intentions, as I’ve always had, I want to marry her. And if she accepts my proposal, I’ll be the happiest human on Earth. I want to make all her dreams come true, there’s no thing I wouldn’t do for her happiness.
If only she says “yes”!

Retrieved by Catherine Tonkovid

MINNIE’S SECRET DIARY (Shriley's best friend)

3rd December
I’ve just come back from the party at Mabel Gove’s, which was amazing! There were lots of interesting people, spending time with whom is a great pleasure, and also a lot of new acquaintances started there. As for me, the most intriguing episodes of the evening were connected with Shirley. Barton wasn’t there, and she was actually free to do what she wanted; so she spent the whole party with a man who I don’t know, but who impressed me as well as her, and who seemed to be really charming. They danced together a lot, they were talking and laughing. Shirley was certainly flirting with him, and everyone noticed that. All that didn’t surprise me: there is nothing astonishing in Shirley’s behavior, I think. Everyone needs a change sometimes, especially if your boyfriend is Barton – that shy, silent, always-waiting-for-something man, who may be a trustworthy person, but who would make your life sort of boring… Anyhow, this evening Shirley spent with that stunning young man, and both seemed to be enjoying themselves.

5th December
It was yesterday that Shirley and Mabel went to the cinema and had a promenade together with Arthur… Actually, why was to take Mabel with them is unclear for me - except for their wish to make their relationship look “innocent”. Well, it’s no use. In our small city it’s hard to conceal such facts, so the gossip would spread anyway (as it is happening now). And as for Shirley, she’s being rather strange recently: her mood is constantly changing – now she is calm, the next minute she is laughing, after a moment she is sad, and you never know the reason for all that. Though I do not see any possible reasons but her “new love” Arthur, who takes over her mind and because of whom she became almost unbearable – she either turns the topic of our conversation to her new friend or starts telling me how boring and monotonous our life here in the country is. I don’t actually understand it very well, as she has never said such things before, and this is certainly Arthur’s influence.

25th February
Shirley&Arthur’s romance is going on and becomes the item on the agenda for most gossipers of the town (to whom I do not belong) more and more often. They don’t even try to conceal anything, and Shirley behaves as if Barton had never existed. She invites him to her place (which I don’t consider a proper way of behavior for the young girl), they spend much time together and after that she always tells me the same stuff about how wonderful that Arthur is and how he is unlike all the young men of our town. Going for a walk to Sparrows Point or Tregore Park with him, she doesn’t care even a little of how she looks in the eyes of her neighbors and friends… well, it’s up to her to decide, but I don’t actually approve of such relationship; especially because it all gives an impression of Arthur sort of using her – he never tries to make things for her convenience, though she always does so for him, and also he has never been that attentive to her, as if she needed him and he didn’t feel the same. I have never tried to persuade her to break up, though everything she is doing seems stranger and stranger to me. But when people are so crazy about someone, it’s no use trying to influence them… Well, we are going to see soon, but I personally don’t believe that this relationship will last long.

24th March
How silly it is of Shirley! Good old Barton was ready to marry her (and, I guess, he still is!), he wouldn’t bring her any problems, he needs her so much that he would make all her wishes come true, he cares for her, he is likely to become an ideal husband, - and she, what is she dreaming of? That Arthur, who is loved by so many girls, never needed Shirley, she is a kind of entertainment for him, and they have no future… And also, maybe it’s possible to understand Shirley, who is so young and romantic, but what are her parents thinking? They don’t dare to explain her how wrong she is, as Shirley’s used to doing what she wants and they are used to letting her everything she wants. It’s too obvious to everyone that Arthur has no serious intentions and plans for the future in connection to Shirley – he always comes to her when he wants without asking if it is appropriate for her… And also, she herself told me that when dreaming about the future, Arthur never mentions her name – which gives an impression of him constantly forgetting about her. Furthermore, all his plans are so shadowy and uncertain, not likely to be true, so changing! He is like a child in his mind, and you can’t trust him or to throw your lot with…

30th April
How strange the people are! Shirley, being once again misled by Arthur, made Barton come to her parents and sit there with them until the late evening. Poor Barton! He did nothing about it, he didn’t become angry and even called at the store to see her, gently complaining about her behavior, but she – she was annoyed with him (as it happens during almost half a year, I think), and eventually sent him away. Shirley, Shirley… What do you expect to get from this relationship? Don’t you see that he is interested in you not more than in any pretty young girl? You’ll certainly see it very soon, if not now, and this discovery would bring you a very bitter sense…but it won’t be possible to change anything.

23rd September
Well, it happened!.. Once Arthur didn’t come at the appointed time, then he sent Shirley letters with stocks of excuses telling how urgent his affairs out of the town were, and finally, she received the one where he told about his plan to leave for Java (which seems to be made up). So, they gradually broke up, and are not likely to meet again… Well, there is nothing to be astonished at, though Shirley feels a bit lost. What actually surprised me was that after a week or so, having received that very letter, she returned to poor Barton, who was certainly waiting for her - but even for whom she was also unexpected at that moment. Well, as for me, that was the only possible outcome of this affair…

Retrieved by Olga Ryabova
*************************************
SHIRLEY'S FATHER WRITES IN HIS JOURNAL

Today I’m not going to write about my own problems, because it seems to me, that my daughter Shirley has much more difficult ones. Now we do not talk heart-to-heart, as we used to only several months ago. Of course, my daughter is not a child anymore… But earlier she could talk with me even about her relationship with Barton. I’m afraid that it only suggests that she has fallen for someone else. And probably I even know him. Oh, what am I talking about? Of course, I know this flippant, idle fop named Arthur! At first, he seemed to me as a good guy. He has a brilliant sense of humor, he is always in a good mood, he is friendly and courteous. But surely I don’t know much about him. Why is my daughter suffering then? I believe that he won’t be a good match for her. He looks as if he came from another planet. He is so little settled in his mind! What does he have to offer to Shirley? Roaming round the world? Barton can be a better husband for her. He is faithful. He holds a firm place at an office on the railway station. I can easily imagine him on a porch, reading a paper and smoking, while his wife (my daughter!) is in the kitchen, peeling potatoes and washing lettuce. They could be a happy couple! But it’s too late… I haven’t seen Barton for ages. Arthur has already pulled the wool over her eyes. She has gone crazy over him. But it’s not right! Nobody in our neighborhood lives such a life. Moreover, Arthur disappeared as well… And Shirley is so sad, so dreary! Oh, my poor daughter!..

* * *
Well, I think I have some good news… Before dinner I was sitting on our veranda and reading a paper, when I saw Shirley coming from work. I asked her something like: “Back, daughter? Your mother is wondering if you would like steak or liver for dinner. Better tell her.” But she murmured something in reply and I noticed that she was upset. But later I saw her in the kitchen with her sleeves turned up… She was setting the table… And there was something in her eyes and behavior… Something which I can’t even explain… And I don’t know how, but suddenly I realized that she had made a choice… The right choice, I mean.

Retrieved by Kristina Veretennikova
****************************************

Friday,
Oh, what a wonderful day I've spent today. It was a very sunny day so I decided to cut the grass before dinner . Also I spent a nice evening smoking and thinking about Shirley. She is already that age when people get married. But she doesn’t want to get married now. I know she is a smart girl, she has that Barton Williams, a very nice and prosperous guy, but she completely doesn’t want to get married and to raise a family. Maybe she is not ready yet? Maybe she is afraid to lose her freedom?
I don’t know , I should ask her mother to talk to her about it. But I really like Barton: he is good-natured,well-meaning and reliable man, in some way he resembles me 30 years ago.

Next Friday
It was a rainy day today, so I didn’t cut the lawn. I've spent the day reading books and newspapers in front of fireplace. Everything's changed. I guess my little Shirleyhas broken up with Barton, because he doesn’t call on her anymore. And when one day I asked her about him, she just mumbled something and went away. So I figured our that she already had somebody else. And she must have totally fallen in love with that another man. Oh, poor Shirley, my feeling is it wont have a happy ending. I should talk about that with wife.
P.S. The liver that my wife prepared for the dinner, was very delicious…

Another Friday
It was a windy day so I didn’t want to cut the grass , but my sweetheart forced to do that.
Shirley seemed very depressed, unhappy and looked broken the whole week . Maybe she has problems at work? Maybe she is ill? Maybe that guy cheated on her?
But one thing worries me: she has eaten almost nothing for the whole week… Or maybe is pregnant?
I'm not sure.. but I think I should call the doctor anyway!!
Poor, little Shirley…

Another Friday
Oh, God, such a good day today. The sun is shinning!! My lawn looks awful, I mustn’t forget to cut the grass.
I've spoke to Shirley today. She looked pretty anxious, but this time I noticed something stange and unusual in the way she looked at me… I noticed some calmness in her eyes and a little bit of peace of mind.
Now, I'm recognizing my sweet little daughter! Finally she returned to us. Oh, how glad I am that everything is just fine with her!!! My wife is cooking liver, so it will be a wonderful dinner today, like in those previous days!!
P.S. We should invite Barton to have dinner with us someday.

Retrieved by Nataliya Vorobieva

March 3/4:The Roaring Twenties

2008-02-25T10:16:00.000-08:00

Francis Scott Fitzgerald as a Chronicler of "the Jazz Age" Era

1. Do "The Great Gatsby Treasure Hunt" and find answers to questions 1-12.

2. Listen to Prof. Weinstein's lecture on F.S.Fitzgerald "The Great Gatsby": American Romance" and be ready to discuss it.

3 . “The Great Gatsby” chapters 1 through 5 (most likely, we won't have time to discuss it at length, but still...)

Image Source: http://www.hugbugs.com/theartofelagance/roaringtwenties.JPG

Feb.26. W.Faulkner "A Rose for Emily"

2008-02-18T07:38:00.000-08:00

1. "A Rose for Emily"
I have just stumbled on this lecture "Epiphany in Faulkner's story and in Richard Cory" by E. A. Robinson. I understand that you won't be able to watch it for tomorrow's class, but do watch it later in the week.

2. Creative assignments (secret journals based on "The Second Choice") are due.
3. Web projects update: you are expected to turn in your group web site's URL no later than March 11.
March 17/18 will be a presentation day.
For guidelines please refer to http://american-literature-projects.blogspot.com/2007/04/assignment-for-may-26.html
You can have a look at last year's student projects: http://tennessee.web-box.ru/
http://msu-american-dream.narod.ru/
Please remember to provide annotated links (10-15) to relevant web sites and blogs.
You own progress (steps in accumulating materials) should be organized on the group blog (for Group 3CCC).

St.Valentine's Day Post: 2 Love Poems by American Poets

2008-02-13T11:31:00.000-08:00

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

e e cummings

More poems by e.e.cummings at http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/eecummings

The photo suggested by Anna M. (it's copyright-protected, so we can't just upload it here) suits this poem by e.e. cummings very well.

THE BIG HEART

"Too many things are occurring for even a big heart to hold."
From an essay by W. B. Yeats

Big heart,
wide as a watermelon,
but wise as birth,
there is so much abundance
in the people I have:
Max, Lois, Joe, Louise,
Joan, Marie, Dawn,
Arlene, Father Dunne,
and all in their short lives
give to me repeatedly,
in the way the sea
places its many fingers on the shore,
again and again
and they know me,
they help me unravel,
they listen with ears made of conch shells,
they speak back with the wine of the best region.
They are my staff.
They comfort me.

They hear how
the artery of my soul has been severed
and soul is spurting out upon them,
bleeding on them,
messing up their clothes,
dirtying their shoes.
And God is filling me,
though there are times of doubt
as hollow as the Grand Canyon,
still God is filling me.
He is giving me the thoughts of dogs,
the spider in its intricate web,
the sun
in all its amazement,
and a slain ram
that is the glory,
the mystery of great cost,
and my heart,
which is very big,
I promise it is very large,
a monster of sorts,
takes it all in--
all in comes the fury of love.

Anne Sexton (1928-1974) She won the Pulitzer prize. Like Sylvia Plath, she committed suicide. More poems by Anne Sexton at http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/annesexton/

I wish I could make a link to this poem that Anna P. has suggested http://flickr.com/photos/booglets/212229716/

Students, I was wondering if you could help me to find a photo at http://flickr.com/ to illustrate the poem that resonates in your heart. Choose one poem and find a picture at the photo-sharing site flickr.com that can go along with the poem. Thanks!

Apropos: Secret Google Tips for Researchers

2008-02-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

Students,
hope you'll get inspired to watch these 4 videos that can help you improve you Google searching skills. I stumbled upon this via Quentin D'Souza.
Direct link to playlist.

Feb.18/19: William Faulkner (1897 – 1962)

2008-02-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

1.Please be sure to read his biography and his Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

2. “Dry September” (a 6-page story)

3. For questions about settings and theme go to SAL p.20-21.

4. Voc.: Vitiated, stale air; a hulking man; to accuse smb of smth; a baffled gaze; to get away with smth; to haggle over the prices; to
lose ground; retaliation; repudiation of truth; to call on smb; bright eyes; to bound from rut to rut; to limp on; a feverish look; glittering eyes; hissing exultation; a passionate life, aglitter eyes; to stare at smb/smth; a weary-looking face; to lie stricken.

Feb. 11: Naturalism

2008-01-31T00:32:00.000-08:00

Theodore Dreiser (August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945)

1. T.Dreiser's biography
2. Read "The Second Choice" (you'll love the story. My students told me that they found it very close to modern life problems in relationships and choices that women make.)
3. Be ready to speak on naturalism in literature.
4. Vocabulary:

Dumb with despair, once and for all, an open plea, evasive reply, wholly dissipated, headstrong, sing after a fashion, innate courtesy, stodginess, dull or dingy, to overcome, to date, to care for someone, to shuttle to and fro, to pay one’s own way, years of toil and saving, to wean away by something, to recall, the scales fall from one’s eyes, to one’s surprise,ineffable delight, boldness on one’s part, delicately rounded chin,
graceful figure, to squeeze one’s arm, to hold one’s breath, to look dreary, to be quite frank, thoughtful of someone, arch smile, handsome face, a proprietary interest, to indulge in a career, to resist someone, hindrance, impending disaster, to be involved in some predicament, little settled in one’s own mind, affection for someone, to quarrel with someone, in a fit of generosity, to notify, to be agonized by the thought;She couldn’t get her mind off him, to be driven off by one’s indifference,to save one’s own face, to cover up a dilemma, a ray of hope, in a fit of numb despair, to call at, to call on, disconsolately, deception, to relinquish an ideal, to suppress a heavy sigh, to creep into, time slipping by; to take up one’s time, on purpose, for the sake of, to groan in soul, grinding, destroying thoughts, to be compelled to do something, to turn up sleeves

Language Tool Recommended

2007-12-21T08:47:00.000-08:00

I have just come across a nice website that can you really help you. When you import a site such as a newspaper into it and click on a word and it instantly translates it and also puts the word in a list to use for vocabulary study.
Check it out http://lingro.com

Dec.6 -Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

2007-11-29T09:54:00.000-08:00

1. Read Emily Dickinson's biography.

Words and expressions for the quiz: self-imposed social seclusion, pillars of the local community, to smuggle, deferential to, to defer to, to be aloof, descendents, inherently, adherent, crucial issue, austerity, a keen artist and accomplished musician, to have a sharp eye for art, quick -witted, to be (ill) at ease, to hold in high esteem, prolific writer.

2. Listen to Prof. Weinstein's lecture #32 "Emily Dickinson - In and Out of Nature".

- Why did Prof. Weinstein call her the first poet of "Babel"?

- What are peculiarities of the Dickinson style?

His other lectures on Emily Dickinson's Poetry (optional=not required)

3. Read a selection of E.Dickinson's poems, learn one poem by heart and prepare it for reciting in class.

Public Poll: Please Vote for the Best Recital (see the post below)

2007-11-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

And the winner is... GEORGE BUNTILOV (8 votes). Our heartfelt congratulations!!!
Anna K. is the second best with 4 votes.
Julia M. has got 2 votes.
Rita K. received one vote.

I hope it was an enriching experience for you. Having struggled with voice recorders, cookies, uploading and downloading, you have definitely become more technically savvy . I also hope that you've learned something about reading and feeling poetry. I wish we hadn't had all those browser-related issues. I am sure more people would have participated in our poll. Anyway, thanks to those of you who took the challenge. You did very well!

Please kindly leave your comments on how we have scored!

Song of Ourselves (Where is the Rest of the Choir??!)

2007-11-26T08:05:00.000-08:00

Julia M.(Group 3CCC), Anna K.(Group 2Tr.), Anna M. (Group 2Tr), Rita K.(Group2Tr.) and George B. (Group 3CCC) reading from "Song of Myself" by W.Whitman. Give it a listen!

ANNOUNCEMENT: We are going to have a public poll for the most impressive reading and recording.
The voting will be open on Wed. Nov.28 (from noon to midnight only). All the students are eligible for the poetry reading contest, so you'd better hurry!

UPDATE: Anna Sh. just sent the URL to her podcast.Please listen to her reading at http://anna-shib.podomatic.com/

You can also listen to our podcasts from my podcast page at http://jilimili.podomatic.com/ Stay tuned for more stuff!

Nov.29 -"Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman

2007-11-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

1. Read this long poem "Song of Myself" from "Leaves of Grass".

2. Listen to an hour-long program devoted to "Song of Myself" on New York Public Radio and be ready to discuss it in class:
or you can download this recording in .mp3 format from the WNYC web site http://www.wnyc.org/arts/articles/54050#music

3. Choose one section of the poem that you like and record yourself reading it. You might want to play some relevant background music or add other sound effects. By Monday (11/26), I expect you to send me your recording at filatowa@mail.ru. You can download an mp3-recorder from http://www.zshare.net/download/50895968771609/
You can also opt for recording yourself online at podomatic.com . NOTE: If you have a hard time converting your files (if you use your cell phone to record yourself) into .mp3 format, I suggest using an online media converter http://media-convert.com/ru/

Nov.22- Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

2007-11-17T05:01:00.000-08:00

1.Read Walt Whitman's biography by E.Folsom and K. Price http://www.whitmanarchive.org/biography/biographymainindex.html

2. Close analysis "There was a child went forth" , "I Hear America Singing", "Cavalry Crossing a Ford"

3. Listen to Prof. Weinstein's lecture "Walt Whitman - the American Bard Appears"

Nov.15 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

2007-11-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

1. Read Longfellow's biography at http://wikipedia.org/

2. Poems for reading (please practise reading outloud at home) and analysis: Hymn to the Night, the Secret of the Sea, A Psalm of Life.

3. S.V.Titova "Studies in American Literature" p.35, 53-59 (definitions of imagery, poetic lines, caesura, meters, rhythm, alliteration, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia)

What Blocks Your Blogs??!

2007-11-05T02:44:00.001-08:00

Dear 3CCC Group Students,
I was wondering how your project work goes and why you fail to post a weekly entry on that. The deadline fast approaching, you are supposed to collect enough material for your web site, which looks as a daunting task at the moment, as you are lagging behind.

Here are the links to all the groups blogs:

Arina and Natasha V. have chosen the topic "Destroyed but not defeated", which will cover the theme and the levels of meaning in "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Miller Hemingway.

George and Alex are working on "Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451". The value of written culture, book&fire symbolism".

Alyona and Polina are tackling the topic of Spiritual Quest in Salinger's "Franny" and Zooey".

Lera is writing about the "Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James.

Julia has chosen the "Theatre of Absurd: E. Albee`s The Zoo Story".

Natasha A. deals with "The Catcher in the Rye" by Salinger.

Dasha, Marina and Kate are working on Zora Neale Hurston's literary legacy.

Sveta is working on Fenimore Cooper's images of noble Indians.

Please, be sure to read my post on academic plagiarism which a big no-no. When you take something (be it a text from an encyclopedia, or an innocent image) without giving a due credit to the author/source, you are stealing. So please always provide links to the web site from where you cut and paste information, and all the pictures should have a subtitle "Image Source: http://www.something.somewhere"

Your posts will be monitored and graded on a weekly basis.

Mid-Term Test (Nov.8)

2007-11-04T03:44:00.000-08:00

1. The test will be based on the material we have covered, i.e. early national literature, F.Franklin, Romanticism, W.Irving, N..Hawthorne, E.A.Poe.

2. Vocabulary Quiz will be based on E.A.Poe's stories "The Cask of Amontillado”,
“MS found in a bottle”, and “The Purloined letter”

to avenge smb
to take revenge on smb for smth
to punish with impunity
to pride oneself on one’s connoisseurship in wine
to drink to smth
to seize smth
to flash with light
to be bewildered
to ejaculate
to wall up the entrance
to wear off
to plaster smth
in vain

hereditary wealth
notoriously known
reveries of fancy
to quiver
a stern of the ship
the salvation of smth
dim, sullen, feeble glow
to believe in superstitions
a stupendous sea
to experience the feeling of awe
concealment
to scrutinize smth
an appalling size
to be doomed to smth
to hover upon
to plunge into
irrepressible reverence
to pace
to ponder upon one’s destiny
to get into whirlpool

to bestow the power
to be susceptible of smth
to waylay smb
to anticipate smth
to conceive
to be thunder-stricken
to grasp smth in agony
to open smth with a trembling hand
to cast a glance at smth
to rush from the house
to fill up the check
human ingenuity
the routine of one’s duty
a disposal of smth
to sacrifice smth
to distinguish smth from smth
to take for granted
a strong relish
to contemplate about smth
pagan legends
to embellish a description
miscellaneous letter
soiled and crumpled letter
to be in search of smth
to be in the view of everybody
inside out
to tear into two
to call for
replace smth by smth
to feel curiosity
to outwit

3. Read E.A.Poe's detective story "The Purloined Letter"

Storytelling Contest Photos

2007-11-03T03:17:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: George Buntilov

Congratulations to our winners Vlad Prevezentsev and Arina Kozhukhar!!!

You can download other pictures from
http://www.zshare.net/download/46412623cfc26b/ and http://www.zshare.net/download/4648966a6f7cc9/

Halloween Storytelling Time (Nov.1)

2007-10-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Students,

We'll start celebrating Halloween on Oct. 31 when we start discussing the life and legacy of Edgar Allan Poe. But since it will be a big class, I suggest having a Halloween party with all its paraphernalia (do bring costumes, decorations, candles, etc) on Thursday.

1. We'll have a storytelling contest with prizes. Please choose any horror story by E.A.Poe that you like (you can also choose one from my list) and be prepared to retell it in class in a Halloween manner.

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM: A prisoner wakes up to find himself in a dark cell with a deep pit.

THE GOLD BUG: A golden insect leads to an incredible discovery.

THE FACTS IN THE CASE OF MR VALDEMAR: A patient is hypnotised minutes before he dies. Is he really dead?

THE FALL OFTHE HOUSE OF USHER

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH: Prince Prospero has a party in his castle. But no one can escape the red death—not even a prince!

THE OBLONG BOX: A traveller boards a ship to New York . What does he carry in the oblong box?

THE BLACK CAT

2. Please read E.A.Poe's poem "The Raven" and prepare its reading outloud. Find some background music to go with it.

Assignment for Oct.31

2007-10-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

!!!We meet for 2 periods in Room 514 at 9 am on Wednesday !!!
1. Read “The cask of Amontillado”, "MS Found in the Bottle"
2. Poe’s Chronology: http://www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poechron.htm
3. Prof. Weinstein's lecture
4. “The influence and reputation of Edgar Allan Poe in Europe”

Voc. for the quiz from the article "The Influence and Reputation of Poe in Europe" by W.T. Brandy:

истинная правда
скудная информация
известные профессора
недоказанные обвинения
слепые поклонники (почитатели)
иметь что-либо под рукой
безупречный вкус
быть в долгу перед кем-либо
отмечать годовщину памяти
обвинить кого-либо в чем-либо
по вашей просьбе
авторские права
превосходить кого-либо
поверхностный взгляд
внести вклад куда-либо

Where We are at with Our Projects

2007-10-23T04:02:00.000-07:00

Now that you've chosen the topic of your web project, I just want to give you an overview of what the end product is going to look like.

By December 6, both groups (Translation Group 2 and CCC Group 3) will have created their web sites.

Your web sites are supposed to have:

1. an introductory page of your site should introduce the theme of your project, your self-presentation (with digital photos and a recorded greeting), a mechanism for contacting you (email and links to your blogs) and a site map (table of contents);

Image Source: http://www.bre.com/Portals/0/images/Support%20Page/question%20key%20brown.gif

2. your own interpretation of the topic and your own analysis of literary works;

3. relevant socio-cultural information and the author's biography (your interpretation + links);

4. presentation of Web sites relating to your topic (do provide a list of at least 10 useful sites with a few words of description);

5. literary works (as links);

6. images (be sure to provide an image source!).

You can have a look at the web sites that were created by my students last year http://american-literature-projects.blogspot.com/2007/05/group-web-sites-are-all-set.html

If you have any questions about the project, feel free to ask them here or after class on Thursdays (Room 320 at 2.10 pm).

CCC Group 3: Your task consists in keeping a group e-portfolio (your group blog) where you will be collecting ideas, materials, links and images for your future web site.

Please note that each team member is expected to post an entry about his/her contribution to the project (first impressions, reports on the charachters, links, images) on a weekly basis. Your posts will be considered as part of your grade.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

2007-10-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

1. A short biography of N. Hawthorne.

2. Reasons for Hawthorne's popularity, major themes in Hawthorne's fiction.

3. Principles of short story writing. Review of Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales by E.A.Poe

4. Allegory and symbols in "Dr. Heidegger's experiment". + "Studies in American Literature" (p.10-11)

Oct.18: Washington Irving-2

2007-10-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

1. Please read The Devil and Tom Walker
The following vocabulary words might be included in the quiz:
articulate, avarice, balk, censure, consecrate, daunt, expedient, forbearance, impregnable, incantation, ostentatious, parsimony, piety, precarious, prevalent, propitious, prostration,
refuge, resolute, superfluous.
2. Revise the main features of Romanticism.
3. Assignment for students from Group 3 CCC: Please start your own blogs which you will use as an electronic portfolio for your future web site and practice posting.
Step 1. You will need to sign up for your group's Blogger.com account. Go to http://www.blogger.com/start and click the "Create Your Own Account" link. Make sure that your group has a personal email account before attempting to sign up. (Since the three of you will be using one and the same login and password, it's a good idea to open up a new mail.ru or gmail.com email account and share it for the duration of the project.) As part of the registration process, Blogger.com sends out a confirmation email containing a link necessary for activation of the new account. As your websites will be available for public viewing, it is perfectly acceptable for you to use pseudonyms or nicknames when signing up. Note: My display name is anna_filatova for obvious convenience reasons.
Step 2.You will be required to enter your blog title which will be the heading of your weblog (eg. mine is "American Literature at MSU"). If need be, you can always change it though. Also, you are to choose your blog's URL (its Internet address). My URL is http://american-literature-msu.blogspot.com
Step 3.Customize your blog, i.e. select a layout and color scheme for your group's weblogs. Blogspot.coml provides a generous selection of ready-to-go templates and colors that can be chosen with the click of a mouse. Simple customization is important, for it helps to create a sense of ownership and unique online identity from the very beginning. Edit your group's profile, i.e. upload your photos, put some info about yourselves and your interests.
Step 4.Practice posting and editing! Play around with it. Then learn how to make comments on other Blogspot.com sites and answer comments on your own sites. Go to my weblog and leave your group's comment about your successful creation of your weblog and its URL.
Step 5. Start working on collecting materials for the web site and post them on your blog.
Best of luck!

Assignment for Oct.11 # 2

2007-09-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

Dear students:

While I am away, I would like you to concentrate on the topics of American literature that you would like to research and to finally publish your research on your group web site. I wouldn't mind if you chose to work on any topic from Prof. Volkova's list or her suggested typology topics. You can also have a look at the list of my suggested topics.

1. Shine Your Shoes for the Fat Lady, or Spiritual Quest in J.D.Salinger’s Novels “Franny" and "Zooey”
2. J.D.Salinger’s concept of raising children (The Glass Family as his idea of New Age people)
3. Eastern Philosophy in Salinger’s Writings (stories “Teddy”, “Franny”, “Zooey”)
4. Zen Buddhism and the Beat Generation
5. Flapper Culture in “The Great Gatsby”.
6. Modern American Authors on the Art of Writing
7. Josef Brodsky’s Writings in English
8. American Dream in “The Great Gatsby”.
9. Post-War American Society in the novel “The Winter of our Discontent”.
10. The search for American Identity in J. Steinbeck’s novels.
11. F.S. Fitzgerald as a Chronicler of the Jazz Age (stories “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”, “Winter Dreams”, “The Rich Boy”, “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz”).
12. Saul Bellow: a great fantasist (“Henderson the Rain King”).
13. Herzog by Saul Bellow: a novel of redemption
14. The Story of Failure and Success in “Humboldt’s Gift” by Saul Bellow
15. Searching for the Sense of Life: Walker Percy’s “ The Moviegoer”.
16. Fitting in the “middle America”: Rabbit’s trilogy (Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich) 17. William Burroughs and postmodernism in AmLit.
18. Nabokov’s “Pnin”: triumphs and its failures of Russian émigré experience in the United States.
19. Nabokov on the nature of time (Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle and Transparent Things) 20. Experience of a Prisoner of War in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five”.
21. Ezra Pound as an Architect of English and American Literary Modernism.
22. Robert Frost, a homespun Yankee sage
23. American Writers: Nobel Prize Laureates
24. The Beatnik Philosophy in the works of Allen Ginsburg and Jack Kerouac
25. Tennessee Williams’ plays (The Streetcar Named Desire & The Glass Menagerie)
26. What does McMurphy represent in Ken Kesey’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest"
27. Female Images in Toni Morrison's Sula and Beloved.

Your site will focus on one or two of the authors and it has to include the following literary elements or techniques you are familiar with:analysis of the text;historical, biographical, cultural contextual information;online versions of literary works (as links).This project will give you the opportunity to consolidate and expand upon the work you’ve done this semester. You will have to conduct research in relation to your author/s: their literary works; some biographical information; socio-historical context; related criticism and specific references to the text you choose to include just as you’ve been doing in discussions in class. My advice is to take a topic you are really interested in. It can deal either with the authors we'll be discussing in class, or with works of literature which we won't be able to tackle this semester.

By Oct. 11, I expect you to find partners (a group may consist of 2-4 students) who you would like to work on the project with, to choose a topic of your collaborative project and to explain the reasons for choosing it by leaving a comment on my weblog and reporting who you have teamed up with.

Best of luck,
Anna Vladimirovna

Assignment for Oct.11

2007-09-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

Washington Irving (1783-1859)

1. Read W.Irving’s short biography

2. Read "Rip Van Winkle" , SAL pp.43-44 (basic stylistic devices)

3. Listen to Prof. Weinstein's lecture "W.Irving- the First American Storyteller"

Assignment for Sept.13

2007-09-08T02:36:00.000-07:00

Colonial Beginnings + Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

1. Read Ch. 1, 2 from "An Outline of AmLit" by Peter High

2. Listen to Lecture 2 to by Prof. Arnold Weinstein and be ready to

compare and contrast Franklin's philosophy with that of his counterpart, Jonathan Edwards, the great Puritan philosopher.

3. Read selections from "Authobiography" (you were given the handouts).

4. Watch the video below and write down 3 quotes by B.Franklin that you liked best.

Fall Semester Syllabus

2007-09-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

Week 1 - Sep. 6
Introduction to the course.

Week 2 – Sep. 13
National Beginnings
Read: Benjamin Franklin HAL p.10-15

Week 3- Sep. 20
Washington Irwing “Rip Van Winkle”
Read: SAL p.9-10 W.Irving’s short biography (http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/wirwing.htm)

Week 4 – Sep.27 Washington Irwing, “The Devil and Tom Walker”
Read: “The Devil and Tom Walker” http://www.ffl.msu.ru/staff/stitova/amlit/tom%20walker.html

Week 5 – Oct.4 Nathaniel Hawthorne , “Dr.Heidegger’s Experiment” Read: HAL p.44, SAL p.10-11 “Dr.Heidegger’s Experiment” http://www.classicreader.com/read.php/sid.6/bookid.196/
A Short Biography of N. Hawthorne: http://www.ffl.msu.ru/staff/stitova/amlit/NathanielHawthorne.doc

Week 6- Oct.11
Edgar Allen Poe – “The cask of Amontillado”
Read: HAL p.119, HAL p.135-139 “The cask of Amontillado”
Poe’s Chronology: http://www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poechron.htm
Short biography: http://poesss.narod.ru/
“The influence and reputation of Edgar Allan Poe in Europe”

Week 7 – Oct. 18 Edgar Allen Poe – “The Purloined Letter”
Read: “The Purloined Letter”
SAL p.13-14
Poe's Method of Narration

Week 8 – Oct. 25
Midterm test

Week 9 – Nov.1
H.Longfellow – “Hymn to the Night” and “The Secret of the Sea”
Read: HAL p.77-81, SAL p.35, p.53-56.

Week 10 – Nov.8
Transcendentalism

Week 11-Nov.15
Walt Whitman – “There was a Child” and “I hear America Singing”
Read: HAL p.82-86, SAL p.36
Whitman’s biography by E.Folsom and K.Price

Week 12 – Nov. 22
Walt Whitman – “Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun”
Read: HAL 85-86, 87. SAL p.55-59

Week 13- Nov.29
Emily Dickinson – “Success”, “I taste a liquor never brewed”, “Much Madness is divinest sense” Read: HAL p.90-92, SAL p.37-38
“Emily Dickinson’s Life” by Paul Crumbley

Week 14 – Dec. 6 Cumulative Vocabulary test

Week 15 – Dec.13 Web Projects Presentation

Week 16 – Dec. 20 Presentation of the collaborative project proposal

Fall 2007 Course Information

2007-09-07T03:32:00.000-07:00

American Literature, 1800-1915

Instructor: Anna Vladimirovna Filatova
E-mail: filatowa@mail.ru

1. Course Description: This course explores a diverse body of nineteen-century literature, including fiction, poetry, and essays, and will help you to understand the texts through close reading and through analysis of the historical, cultural, and artistic value of the text.

2. Course Objectives:
This course has been designated to supplement a lecture course by Prof. E.I.Volkova to deeply and critically read complex literary texts and to delve into basic literary theory.

Your objectives for this course are to
1. Demonstrate familiarity with the social and political forces shaping American culture during the time period;
2. Use textual evidence to support your claims in oral and informal written discussion of assigned texts, without dismissing or oversimplifying views which differ from yours;
3. Organize and develop your initial reactions to assigned texts, through informal writing, peer critiques, and discussion;
4. Work on a collaborative web project that appropriately uses primary and secondary sources (including basic literary theory); Use online tools and resources;
5. Contribute actively to a positive learning environment.

To that end, you will:
read all assigned texts and reflect on them before class,
complete quizzes and exercises to ensure that you are keeping up with the readings and to evaluate your progress,
participate regularly in classroom and web-based discussions, and
do creative writing tasks.

At the end of this course, you should be able to demonstrate
1. Competence in the critical reading of complex literary texts;
2. Intellectual engagement with your peers (in person and online);
3. Awarness of the historical, cultural, and formal issues that influence your developing responses to texts on the syllabus;
4. Ability to plan, draft, revise, and polish high-quality research in the form of a web site.

3.Course Requirements:
The class format will be a seminar, with lots of discussion. You will be asked to develop the capacity to present and defend your own original thoughts about the assigned readings.
That being the case, it goes without saying that students are expected to keep up with the readings, to reflect on them before coming to class, and to contribute actively to creating an active, positive learning environment. We will make an ample use of the Web and we will end up creating our own web sites where you are expected to demonstrate critical thinking, your skills in creative writing, and your abilities to work in a team

4. Attendance.
Students are expected to attend every class. Because a large percentage of your course grade depends on your familiarity with the assigned readings, falling behind or procrastinating can lead to big trouble.
Students who miss a class period for any reason are still responsible for the material covered that day. An excused absence does not automatically grant an extension for any work collected or assigned that day. Please be prepared to take all the quizzes and tests, write an essay and have a one-on-one discussion with the instructor.

5. Class Participation
Students are expected to contribute actively to a positive classroom environment, both in person and online. Students who dislike public speaking may wish to invest more effort in their online writing, and vice-versa. Common sense and common courtesy dictate that absences, late arrivals and early departures, use of telephones or headphones, lack of preparation, and inattentiveness will impact your grade.

6. Required Books (please download them now for future use):
1. Titova.S. Studies in American Literature. MSU. 1999.
2. Reuben P. Halleck. History of American Literature.
3. William Lawton. Introduction to the Study of American Literature.Yonkers-on-Hudson, N.Y.; World Book Co. 1914.
4. Peter High. An Outline of American Literature. Longman. 1986
5. Monolingual English Dictionaries: Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary or Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.

In addition to the texts listed above, readings also include handouts and online texts. When we are scheduled to discuss an online text, bring a complete printout to class with you.

7. Grading
To succeed in the course, you will need to read assignments carefully (that is, more than once), and be prepared ro discuss the readings in-depth when you come to class. You will also be required to work on a web project and learn vocabulary.

Grading will be based on the following:
Attendance, Participation, and Quizzes 30%
Web Project 30%
Vocabulary Test 20%
Exam 20%