http://search.proquest.com/docview/198091990/fulltextPDF?accountid=10764
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lW_JAAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=cormac+mccarthy+the+road&ots=_ezpHueyDn&sig=9x4ArJWgaqsfR7ZjU7Ru5f64Cmk#v=onepage&q=cormac%20mccarthy%20the%20road&f=false
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Ser9AQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=cormac+mccarthy+the+road&ots=I3B_Ao7LDc&sig=NJZyEsSF_KaK4RZq7PalxPn3jNw#v=onepage&q=cormac%20mccarthy%20the%20road&f=false
http://search.proquest.com/docview/210394576?pq-origsite=gscholar
http://www.riverdell.org/cms/lib05/NJ01001380/Centricity/Domain/95/The%20Road%20-%20Cormac%20McCarthy%20-%20Books%20-%20Review%20-%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
Monday, November 23, 2015
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Tentative Essay Questions
The Road
1)
In what ways does Janie violate typical gender boundaries? How could some of her words or actions be seen as masculine? How did the men in her life react to this?
3)
Joe is the most ambitious character in the novel, determined to take his destiny into his own hands. How does he assert his will in Eatonville? On Janie? Does Joe succeed in achieving his goals?
4)
The
novel’s title is taken from a line describing the hurricane that hits Belle
Glade: “They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes
straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure
their puny might against His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their
eyes were watching God”(160). How does Hurston develop the idea of God? What
role does God play in the world of the novel?
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA01/Grand-Jean/Hurston/Chapters/how.html
1) One man they meet on the road says
"There is no God and we are his prophets." What does he mean by this?
Explain the role of God and faith in The
Road. As always, use direct references to the text as your proof.
2) Describe the relationship between the
boy and his father. What do they feel
for each other? How do they maintain their affection for and faith in each
other in such brutal conditions? How do they support each other during the
tougher times of the novel?
3) What does The Road ultimately suggest
about good and evil? What separates the “good guys” from the “bad guys”? How do
we as readers know this?
4) Use the idea that the boy is symbolic
of a religious figure or “the one” and explain how his role changes over the
course of the novel.
Their Eyes Were Watching God1)
In what ways does Janie violate typical gender boundaries? How could some of her words or actions be seen as masculine? How did the men in her life react to this?
2)
One
of the universal themes of literature is the idea that children suffer because
of the mistakes of an earlier generation. Examine the development of this theme
in Their Eyes Were Watching God by analyzing the story that Nanny tells about her life (14-20).
Discuss Nanny’s interactions with white men and women. How did growing up in
slavery impact her worldview? How has her past impacted her relationship with
her daughter and granddaughter?
3)
Joe is the most ambitious character in the novel, determined to take his destiny into his own hands. How does he assert his will in Eatonville? On Janie? Does Joe succeed in achieving his goals?
4)
5)
How did slaves’ positions as a sub-class, those not considered human at all, affect Nanny’s outlook on life? To what social class does she aspire to be included in? What are the defining characteristics of this class? How does she impose this perspective on Janie?
6)
Consider
Janie’s description of the day she realized that she was not white (pages 8-9)
and compare this description to Zora Neal Hurston’s essay, “How It Feels to be
Colored Me.” (Link Below) In both texts, the speaker’s explanation of her awareness of race
refers to more than an awareness of skin tone. What does Hurston mean when she
writes about “realizing she was colored”? What does Janie become aware of when
she views the photo? How would you describe Hurston’s view of racial identity?
Thursday, November 12, 2015
The Road
NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/books/review/Kennedy.t.html?pagewanted=all
http://blog.mattmecham.com/2007/05/29/cormack-mccarthy-the-road/
Hope:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/200805/coping-and-procrastination-the-role-hope
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CGoQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.swarthmore.edu%2FSocSci%2Fbschwar1%2Fpitfalls.pdf&ei=5epxT-OyKoPC0QGIlOWgAQ&usg=AFQjCNHKErPOuXD1lgCFc7gjizHGBkt_jg&sig2=Iz-GAe8EOtNQLnsdv7Ws9g
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joyce-mcfadden/the-psychology-of-hope-an_b_141856.html
This is an article on The Road and "The Allegory of the Cave"
tp://journals.tdl.org/cormacmccarthy/index.php/cormacmccarthy/article/view/852/616
More about The Road
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/books/review/Kennedy.t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://www.themodernword.com/reviews/mccarthy_road.html
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n02/philip-connors/crenellated-heat
http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2639&context=etd
http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/013_04/499
http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/013_04/499
http://network.bepress.com/explore/arts-and-humanities/english-language-and-literature/literature-in-english-north-america/?facet=publication_facet%3A%22Cormac+McCarthy+Conference%22
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/books/review/Kennedy.t.html?pagewanted=all
http://blog.mattmecham.com/2007/05/29/cormack-mccarthy-the-road/
Hope:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/200805/coping-and-procrastination-the-role-hope
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CGoQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.swarthmore.edu%2FSocSci%2Fbschwar1%2Fpitfalls.pdf&ei=5epxT-OyKoPC0QGIlOWgAQ&usg=AFQjCNHKErPOuXD1lgCFc7gjizHGBkt_jg&sig2=Iz-GAe8EOtNQLnsdv7Ws9g
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joyce-mcfadden/the-psychology-of-hope-an_b_141856.html
This is an article on The Road and "The Allegory of the Cave"
tp://journals.tdl.org/cormacmccarthy/index.php/cormacmccarthy/article/view/852/616
More about The Road
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/books/review/Kennedy.t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
http://www.themodernword.com/reviews/mccarthy_road.html
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n02/philip-connors/crenellated-heat
http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2639&context=etd
http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/013_04/499
http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/013_04/499
http://network.bepress.com/explore/arts-and-humanities/english-language-and-literature/literature-in-english-north-america/?facet=publication_facet%3A%22Cormac+McCarthy+Conference%22
Monday, November 9, 2015
More Outside Sources for Their Eyes Were Watching God
https://books.google.com/books?id=QDpS_foJC8IC&lpg=PA69&ots=4UW7seZdiU&dq=their%20eyes%20were%20watching%20god&lr&pg=PA69#v=onepage&q=their%20eyes%20were%20watching%20god&f=false
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2904333?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=QDpS_foJC8IC&oi=fnd&pg=PA175&dq=their+eyes+were+watching+god&ots=4UW7seZejU&sig=4UwDu2Tms6F08khOB7mfbLLfVxs#v=onepage&q=their%20eyes%20were%20watching%20god&f=false
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2903284?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Sources from in class discussion:
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/old-WILLA/fall99/berridge.html
http://people.virginia.edu/~sfr/enam854/summer/hurston.html
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1420115484&v=2.1&u=astevenson&it=r&p=GLS&sw=w&asid=cb119f0facbbdd75bbf6a4a0fd66cfb8
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/lrc/detail/detail?sid=cabe7a67-389e-41a4-ad9e-50e184c17825%40sessionmgr4005&vid=0&hid=4107&bdata=JnNpdGU9bHJjLWxpdmU%3d#AN=9709053248&db=lfh
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/lrc/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=022d9224-ca8c-42be-88bc-6d7e49aee1c9%40sessionmgr4003&vid=1&hid=4107
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2904333?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=QDpS_foJC8IC&oi=fnd&pg=PA175&dq=their+eyes+were+watching+god&ots=4UW7seZejU&sig=4UwDu2Tms6F08khOB7mfbLLfVxs#v=onepage&q=their%20eyes%20were%20watching%20god&f=false
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2903284?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Sources from in class discussion:
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/old-WILLA/fall99/berridge.html
http://people.virginia.edu/~sfr/enam854/summer/hurston.html
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1420115484&v=2.1&u=astevenson&it=r&p=GLS&sw=w&asid=cb119f0facbbdd75bbf6a4a0fd66cfb8
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/lrc/detail/detail?sid=cabe7a67-389e-41a4-ad9e-50e184c17825%40sessionmgr4005&vid=0&hid=4107&bdata=JnNpdGU9bHJjLWxpdmU%3d#AN=9709053248&db=lfh
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/lrc/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=022d9224-ca8c-42be-88bc-6d7e49aee1c9%40sessionmgr4003&vid=1&hid=4107
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Their Eyes Were Watching God
http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/folklore-zora-neale-hurstons-their-eyes-were-watching-god
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WBNuLxTzzwMC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=their+eyes+were+watching+god+&ots=KAzRr1Ma0_&sig=mxqil9lKNLCWkG8Ycj1Jvc6N2_k#v=onepage&q=their%20eyes%20were%20watching%20god&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=RuGMORXyF4YC&oi=fnd&pg=PA155&dq=their+eyes+were+watching+god+critical+&ots=I9gN-e64o7&sig=fZIDfaYqwb2NZjUuQPtX5rGQAsk#v=onepage&q=their%20eyes%20were%20watching%20god%20critical&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=DjQMg8gTzygC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=their+eyes+were+watching+god+critical+&ots=iRe-22X1m-&sig=SNAVAwSdsHW_WfsojBWRQlGiupA#v=onepage&q=their%20eyes%20were%20watching%20god%20critical&f=false
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/464063?sid=21105518868921&uid=2&uid=3739256&uid=3739808&uid=4
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WBNuLxTzzwMC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=their+eyes+were+watching+god+&ots=KAzRr1Ma0_&sig=mxqil9lKNLCWkG8Ycj1Jvc6N2_k#v=onepage&q=their%20eyes%20were%20watching%20god&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=RuGMORXyF4YC&oi=fnd&pg=PA155&dq=their+eyes+were+watching+god+critical+&ots=I9gN-e64o7&sig=fZIDfaYqwb2NZjUuQPtX5rGQAsk#v=onepage&q=their%20eyes%20were%20watching%20god%20critical&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=DjQMg8gTzygC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=their+eyes+were+watching+god+critical+&ots=iRe-22X1m-&sig=SNAVAwSdsHW_WfsojBWRQlGiupA#v=onepage&q=their%20eyes%20were%20watching%20god%20critical&f=false
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/464063?sid=21105518868921&uid=2&uid=3739256&uid=3739808&uid=4
https://books.google.com/books?id=WWDZBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT36&lpg=PT36&dq=Simmons,+Ryan.+%22The+Hierarchy+Itself:+Hurston%27s+Their+Eyes+Were+Watching+God+and+the+Sacrifice+of+Narrative+Authority%22.+African+American+Review+36.2+%28Summer+2002%29:+181-93.+Print&source=bl&ots=TDBQHQO9Cc&sig=hYD7BMCCCTuHvHxUDTm7JGrO6NU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tSUHVenhE4uyggS9s4CIBQ&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Simmons%2C%20Ryan.%20%22The%20Hierarchy%20Itself%3A%20Hurston's%20Their%20Eyes%20Were%20Watching%20God%20and%20the%20Sacrifice%20of%20Narrative%20Authority%22.%20African%20American%20Review%2036.2%20(Summer%202002)%3A%20181-93.%20Print&f=false
Podcast:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/neas-the-big-read/id303133830?mt=2&i=52870823
Podcast:
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
No Class Tuesday Oct 27
Hello Class,
I will not be in today so we will finish up the film on Thursday Oct. 29. We will move into Their Eyes Were Watching God next week.
Prof. O'Connell
I will not be in today so we will finish up the film on Thursday Oct. 29. We will move into Their Eyes Were Watching God next week.
Prof. O'Connell
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
White Noise
White Noise Links
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/13/books/delillo-noise.html
http://www.perival.com/delillo/whitenoise.html
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/03/entertainment/la-caw-paperback-writers3-2010jan03
http://markdpepper.com/3090/consuminganddying.pdf
Fear of Death:
http://www.thestressoflife.com/how_people_handle_fear_of_death.htm
http://www.hypnos.co.uk/hypnomag/rattan.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/14666-death-the-last-act-of-life/
Sites about the role of the American Grocery Store:
http://www.groceteria.com/
Death and family in White Noise:
http://www.paulbarrett.net/nonfiction/whitenoise.html
http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/journal_of_modern_literature/v025/25.2barrett.html
This book would also be helpful:
http://www.worldcat.org/title/don-delillos-white-noise/oclc/49923159
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Background Information on Guy Fawkes
http://www.bonfirenight.net/gunpowder.php
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/blogs/p/2015/09/28/guy-fawkes-historical-vs-misappropriated
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/guy_fawkes
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/11209784/9-things-you-never-knew-about-Guy-Fawkes.html
Comparisons to 1984:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-22784393
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/blogs/p/2015/09/28/guy-fawkes-historical-vs-misappropriated
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/guy_fawkes
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/11209784/9-things-you-never-knew-about-Guy-Fawkes.html
Comparisons to 1984:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-22784393
Thursday, September 17, 2015
1984
Here is a link with outside sources connected to 1984:
http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/Orwell.htm
NY Times article from 1984:
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/01/nyregion/the-message-for-today-in-orwell-s-1984.html
Some more literary criticism:
http://theliteraryindex.com/george-orwell-literary-criticism.html
Letter written by Orwell:


http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/Orwell.htm
NY Times article from 1984:
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/01/nyregion/the-message-for-today-in-orwell-s-1984.html
Some more literary criticism:
http://theliteraryindex.com/george-orwell-literary-criticism.html
Letter written by Orwell:
Monday, September 7, 2015
Missed a First Class--Our first class will be Thursday 9/17
Missed a First Class--Our first class will be Thursday 9/17
Hello Class:
Hello Class:
As you know by now I was not in class today (Tuesday 9/8). My wife gave birth to our first child recently and I am home with them. Just follow the syllabus for these next few classes and I'll be back Thursday 9/17 when we will catch up and be back on track for the rest of the semester.
So take this next week or so to get the required texts and be ready to go next Thursday.
Prof. O'Connell
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Syllabus
9/8
T Introduction to course, plagiarism, syllabus, presentation discussion and Read “The TV” handout
9/10
R “The TV” Handout
9/15
T 1984
9/17
R 1984
9/22
T 1984
9/24
R 1984
9/29
T Film: V For Vendetta
10/1
R Film: V For Vendetta, ASSIGN
FIRST PAPER
10/6
T White Noise
10/8
R White Noise
10/13
T White
Noise
10/15
R White
Noise, PAPER DUE
10/20
T White Noise
10/22
R Film Minority Report
10/27
T Film, Minority Report, ASSIGN SECOND PAPER
10/29
R Their Eyes Were Watching God (Up to
Ch 5)
11/3
T Their
Eyes Were Watching God (Up to Ch 10)
11/5
R Their Eyes Were Watching God (Up to
Ch 15), PAPER DUE
11/10
T Their Eyes Were Watching God
(Finish Novel)
11/12R
Outside Sources for Their Eyes Were
Watching God
11/17
T The Road
11/19
R The Road
11/24
T The Road, ASSIGN FINAL PAPER
11/26
R ***NO CLASS***
12/1
T The Road
12/3
R Sign up for Presentations
12/8
T Presentations
12/10
R Presentations
12/10
T ***NO CLASS***WORK ON PAPER
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