Department of English

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University

2202232  Introduction to the Study of English Fiction

 

Puckpan Tipayamontri

Office: BRK 1106.1

Office Hours: W 2–4 or by appointment

Phone: 0 2218 4703

puckpan.t@chula.ac.th

 

Group 4

BRK 313

M 11–12, Th 8–10

Words—so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.

--Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

Announcements

! The Final Exam is on Thursday, February 26, 2009, 8:30–10:30 a.m. in BRK 301. There will be two parts: Part I (50 points) consists of three questions covering the short stories we've read this semester, Part II (50 points) consists of three questions on Cunningham's The Hours. More review material on the stories and novel will be up shortly.

! Test 3 on Mansfield's "Miss Brill" will be available for you to pick up from your instructor's office on Tuesday (February 24).

 

! Final paper on The Hours due Thursday, February 19, 2009 at the beginning of class. See guidelines and sample papers below:

 

Presentation

  • If you are planning to use PowerPoint, make sure it is compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 version. Also embed or include files of any nonstandard fonts that are in your presentation.

  • Let me know of any other audiovisual needs by 4 p.m. Wednesday, February 18, 2009.

  • 15-minute presentation followed by

  • 10-minute question and answer session

  • Schedule

    Thursday, February 19, 2009

    8:00–8:25: Perfection Is Failure: How Virginia, Laura, Richard, and Clarissa Want Better than Success

    Presiding: Hatai

    Speakers: Suthida, Sirirak, Ornrumpa, Ampira

    Respondent 1: from group "Number One"

    Respondent 2: from group "Laura's Search"

    Respondent 3: from group "Guilty Pleasures"

     

    8:30–8:55: Number One for Mrs. Brown: The Symbolism of Cakes and Books

    Presiding: Savanun

    Speakers: Vichaya, Sathida, Supawadee

    Respondent 1: from group "Perfection is Failure"

    Respondent 2: from group "Guilty Pleasures" 

    Respondent 3: from group "Laura's Search"

     

    9:00–9:25: Laura's Search for Identity 

    Presiding: Sathida

    Speakers: Sutharinee, Haruthai, Atita, Apichaya

    Respondent 1: from group "Guilty Pleasures" 

    Respondent 2: from group "Number One"

    Respondent 3: from group "Perfection is Failure"

     

    9:30–9:55: The Guilty Pleasures of Mrs. Brown

    Presiding: Ornrumpa

    Speakers: Saijai, Hatai, Savanun

    Respondent 1: from group "Laura's Search" 

    Respondent 2: from group "Perfection is Failure"

    Respondent 3: from group "Number One"

Paper

! The Final Exam is on Thursday, February 26, 2009, 8:30–10:30 a.m. in BRK 302

 

! Midterm is on Thursday, December 25, 2008, 8–10 a.m.

! For class on Thursday, December 11, 2008:

  • Review plot, character, and point of view

  • Study questions for Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty":

    • What contrasts do you see in the story?

    • Examine the transition points between Mitty's fantasies and reality and points where clear contrasts break down or where real life intrudes into the secret life or vice versa.

    • Why do you think Walter Mitty's fantasies are called his "secret life"?  Why are fantasies called "life"?  Are they alive?  Are they that important?

  • Read Cunningham's The Hours (1998)

! For class on Monday, December 1, 2008:

! For class on Monday, November 10, 2008:

  • Review plot

  • Reread Road Dahl's short story "The Landlady" with the reading questions in the Study Guide in mind to help you focus on different aspects of the narrative.

  • E-mail me your reading response that takes on one of the questions/topics on the Study Guide page or one that you pose yourself. Use MLA format and keep the length to no more than one page A4 double-spaced.
Course Outline

Detailed Schedule (group 4)

 

Class Time: M 11–12, Th 8–10

Class Location: BRK 313

Texts:

Requirements and Expectations:

  • Reading Responses: You may write reading responses as often as you wish, but at least e-mail me something for every story we read. Think of the responses as an attempt to explain, discuss or comment on a question that you pose about the reading. I don't expect more than one page double-spaced but these should be well thought out. Quality is more important than quantity. I am always willing to discuss your ideas or questions about the reading or about the course. See samples.

  • Attendance and Participation: Discussion of the texts will be a big part of this class and students are encouraged to express their opinions, share observations and ask questions. Come prepared to discuss the reading material. This is an important way to learn and increase your understanding about the readings. Use this opportunity in class to expand your perspectives!

  • There will be three tests, a final, and one paper/project.

    • Test I: on "The Furnished Room"

    • Test II: on Michael Cunningham's The Hours

    • Test III: on "Miss Brill"

    • Final: 2 parts: 1) on all short stories, and 2) The Hours

    • Final Paper and Presentation on The Hours

Blackboard Academic Suite for group 4

Course Syllabus (Word file)

Studying Literature

  • Klarer, Mario.  An Introduction to Literary Studies.  2nd ed.  London: Routledge, 2004. (CL  820.K63I)

  • Lynn, Steven.  Literature: Reading and Writing with Critical Strategies.  New York: Pearson Longman, 2004. (CL  808.L989L)

  • Undergraduate Guide for Studying Literature (How well do you understand what you have read?, keeping a reading journal, critical terms for discussing literature, guidelines for writing essays, what the grade on your essay means, what to do with your marked essay, marking symbols and abbreviations; also has downloadable pdf file)

  • Literary Resources on the Net
Writing
Useful Texts

Abrams, M. H.  A Glossary of Literary Terms.  8th ed.  Boston: Thomson, 2005.

 

Gibaldi, Joseph.  MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.  6th ed.  New York: Modern 

Language Association of America, 2003. (library has 5th ed.)

 

Bressler, Charles E.  Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999. (Arts Reserve  PN81 B843L)

 

Brooks, Cleanth, and Robert Penn Warren. Understanding Fiction. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. (library has 2nd ed.)

 

Gillespie, Sheena, Terezinha Fonseca, and Tony Pipolo, eds.  Literature Across Cultures.  New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. (CL  808.8 La776)

 

Kennedy, X. J.  An Introduction to Fiction.  New York: Longman, 1999. (Arts  PN6120.2 K36I)

 

Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia.  Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.  9th ed.  New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. (CL  808 K36L 2005)

 

McMahon, Elizabeth, Susan Day, and Robert Funk.  Literature and the Writing Process.  New York: Macmillan, 1986. (Arts Stack  PE1417 M263L)

 

Murfin, Ross, and Suryia M. Ray.  The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms.  Boston: Bedford, 2006. (library has 2nd ed.; CL ref PN44.5 M975B, Arts PN44.5 M975B)

 

Oxford English Dictionary.  2nd ed.  20 vols.  Oxford: Oxford UP, 1989.

 

Perrine, Laurence.  Story and Structure.  5th ed.  New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978. (Arts Stack  PZ1 P42St5)

 

Roget’s International Thesaurus.  6th ed.  Ed. Barbara Ann Kipfer.  New York: Harper, 2001. (library has 3rd ed.)

 

Rohrberger, Mary.  An Introduction to Literature.  New York: Random House, 1968. (Arts  PN45 R737I)

Literature Links
Fiction News

 

 

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Last updated February 22, 2009