The Winsome Scholar

Read and journal “Book I” of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. For bonus life points, read (and journal, always) the first section of “Emanations” from Campbell.

Quick answer to that one.

So, we discussed allusions in class today. I was happy to see the broad range that you guys came up with. Maybe we ought to come up with a way to catalogue them all? We’ll talk about that tomorrow.

If you didn’t have anything to contribute, don’t worry too much. There will be plenty of time to make up the points, but do keep your eyes open. One of the goals for this semester is for us to see how deeply these stories have impacted everything that came after. Use your journals, and if you can grab a picture or bring in a file or web address, that would be great.

We’ll be discussing the end of Book V tomorrow. Make sure your journals are up to date!

The copies of Ovid’s Metamorphoses are available at the Barnes & Noble at 41st under my name or the name of the school. You should read (and journal) through section two by Monday.

As you read, try to parse down the most essential elements of the stories (as we did today with Phaethon’s story), and record any connections you come up with between them and other works.

Update: I’ve received a few questions about our plans after my absence. We’ll continue the schedule as laid out, but I’ll be looking over your journals on Monday the 19th. Thanks, JS

Love in the Time of Cholera is not for the faint-of-heart, as I’m sure you’re all aware by now. I’ve posted a reading schedule below. It would be wise to read ahead (and journal all the way) over the weekends and breaks if you’re afraid of falling behind. (For those who find themselves lost in discussions of passages they’ve read beyond, the reading journal is a good way to refresh your memory.)

Journaling is vital to the creation of a solid paper towards the end of this novel. If you scroll to the end of the schedule, you’ll notice that we end the novel on a Wednesday (the 28th) and turn in a final draft of your term paper the next week (the 3rd). By journaling as you go, you are keeping track of patterns that emerge (see “Some things,” below). When you formulate your thesis, you are explaining what these patterns say about the work as a whole. From there, creating an outline is a matter of going through your journal and grouping quotations and insights that support your thesis, then putting them in a logical order. Writing a rough draft should be mostly copying your comments and their accompanying quotations from your journal.

It is not a simple process, but most of the insight work should be done while you’re reading and during our discussions. The writing process is communication work: organizing, working on flow, reinforcing your points.

I’ll work with each of you as we go, but I can’t read/journal for you; I can merely guide you in the right direction.

Possible essay topics:

• Explore the use of water imagery and how it reflects the themes of the novel.
• Contrast the characters of Dr. Urbino and Florentino Ariza using the symbolism that surrounds each.
• Explore the many types of love found in this novel. Are there any commonalities?
• Explain Marquez’s use of setting to reflect the tone of particular scenes.
• Explain the parallels between the city and the characters (particularly Dr. Urbino) as they age.

These are only ideas; let me know if you come up with another one.

Some things to be journaling:

• All liquid imagery (particularly water, but all other fluids)
• Mixed metaphors or images that seem contradictory
• First impressions and sketches of Dr. Urbino, Fermina Daza, and Florentino Ariza
  • As the characters interact, note how they compare or contrast. (“Would Urbino react like Florentino does in this scene?”)
• Keep tracking the different types of love!
• Always
  • Questions
  • Vocabulary
  • Cool passages
  • Your interpretations/reactions of events

We will have a brief quiz on Monday. If you are having difficulties keeping up with the reading, see me and we’ll work it out.

To check your understanding, check out this site, which has a list of basic questions about each section. This isn’t an assignment, though it would be beneficial to read over them after you finish a section.

Reading/writing schedule:

We finished Hamlet today in fifth hour (we’ll finish tomorrow in third). Your completed journals are due the day after we finish (tomorrow for fifth hour, Wednesday for third). If you elected to write the essay, a draft is due before Thursday.

I’m very excited about how things are going. Journaling, like essay writing, is a skill that takes time and practice to master. For those of you with questions, I can offer practical advice: “Write your reactions to and questions about the work. Quote nearly as often as you react or question.” My longer answer can be found in the previous post.

I can also offer more experimental advice: “Play around with your journal. After all, it is yours. I’m only grading on coverage (did you write about the whole story), so the rest is up to you. Choose a cool notebook; use page tabs; use colors for different ideas, themes, characters, questions/responses, or vocab; draw pictures… I may look over it, but your only audience is you. Literature means nothing without a reader; it’s just words on a page, but a good journal can make a dusty work relevant and alive. Make yourself proud; it’s your education.”

I’ll follow this up tomorrow in class, before we begin our foray into existentialism.