20th and final posting
11.45 a.m. 4th September 2008
Well, all good things must come to an end. I had a real fun time exploring, finding out and explaining from what I went through while in the midst of completing my EDU 3234 assignments. I have successfully come up with my thesis statement and five points of argument for my position paper. I am happy with the thorough research I have done on Kate Chopin's 'The Storm' for my third assignment and also explaining about Dr. Edwin' module. It is most exciting when I actually have to blog and tell you guys all about it!
I hope any reader who reads my blog will find my postings wonderful. Readers out there! Don't skim and scan okay, just enjoy reading each and every posting at your own pace. I hope that all of you would gain information that would encourage you to read the two short stories by yourselves. I'm positive that you guys and gals out there will have a blast of a time reading. I hope Dr. Edwin would feel the same way too.
A rather hard work, I would say. Till then take care and bye.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Evaluation - (continuation part 2)
19th posting
7.15 a.m. 4th September 2008
Love letters by John Keats are very inspirational to those lovebirds out there who are busy courting each other. Love letters are so powerful even when those being courted who play hard to get, would melt away just by the powerful words used. These letters can simply inspire those who are in love to come up with their own ways to write love letters. I can almost feel what the writer feels for the lady he loves and I am able to imagine the era the letters were written. From here we can also learn the way they lived and what goes through in the writer's mind when he writes. Though this is not a suitable topic for our students of lower forms, I feel these letters are vital when it comes to case studies for the upper secondary.
Andy Warhol's diary entries are somewhat personal but made public. From here we can see what he saw and how he lived and the people he had met when he was in the movie industry. We in turn, learn how most people who have connection with him have lived in glitz and glamour during those times. I reckon that he was living in a world full of gossips and rivalry. We can somewhat see what he went through and at times we can relate how he feels with what we have felt at some point in our lives. We can even distinguish the good and the bad feelings he had when he met certain people whom he liked and disliked. This in turn lets us know and be aware that we are open to people's criticism on us on the way we live, the way we carry ourselves, the way we speak and our actions. Indirectly, Andy Warhol's entries stir us to be wise at all times when we are to be in public eye or view or to have any business with people at large. Though it is important to know what the undertakings that a writer takes are, I feel entries such as these are not suitable for secondary school students in Malaysia as the entries are a little vulgar.
Essays by E.M. Forster and George Orwell are truly educational when it comes to enhancing ones vocabulary, strengthen one's word power and gaining fruitful ideas and is most suitable for students as these essays not only give them clues on how to go about writing but also give them some insights into how a writer feels when he/she is confronted with dangerous situation. In George Orwell's 'Shooting an Elephant', the writer is held accountable for his own actions. This will not only enhance the student's vocabularies and word power but they also learn to make wise judgements and to be truthful to themselves if they are confronted with similar situations in their lives. I for one, am an avid reader of essays be it of essays written from real accounts or by imagination and I must say that I used some of the ideas from my readings to write my own powerful essays during and since my school days. Because of the useful info I get from ample reading, I have at times manage to settle many issues in my life successfully.
The Critical Analysis of Literary Works such as the Reader Response Criticism is very informative and important because as an English teacher, I must utilize reader response in my lessons when reading a literary text so that learners can give their personal responses. The best part is that meaning is created by the reader. In order to see all this, I have to change my classroom's environment from teacher centered to learner centered where students are given the central position. This way, students will feel very interested as this will give them the opportunity to give their opinions and express themselves on certain text they are reading and this will not only invoke their desire to actively involve in their lesson but also will boost their self esteem. This will make them feel important as their contribution will be recognized. I have also found out the wonderful part of deconstruction done in literary texts, as this allows students to be more critical where at this point they have to examine what is silent and unsaid in literary texts.
Students can also read texts of different theories and ideologies such as from the Marxist Criticism, Psychological Criticism and Archetypal Criticism. Marxist Criticism helps students to understand how economic forces determine the lives of people in a society or societies. We can analyze using this criticism by looking at the estate workers and also the lives of rubber tappers in Malaysia. Students can learn about Psychological Criticism and utilize them whenever they are doing their critical studies on plays.
Many of us love to dream and some of us do believe in myths. Students who are prone to this will do their critical work using the Archetypal Criticism as both the author and the reader share some unconscious collective memories. This will give them the opportunity to be more analytical and critical in their readings and studies in general. This will also broaden their mind because of the information they receive from their readings. However, students need to be careful as there have been criticisms regarding each one of them.
There are many women who are movers and shakers and Feminist Criticism is a suitable avenue for students to do some critical study. This criticism allows readers to voice their concerns related to women in literary texts. How women are portrayed, positioned and represented in societies since time immemorial will truly inspire students to appreciate women's struggle for equal rights and freedom of speech and also freedom as a whole. Women's issues can be raised and discussed in literature classroom when reading literary texts by employing this Feminist Criticism. I am sure students will find women's successful achievements in a male dominated world truly inspirational in their readings and have an impact in their lives. Women all over who read anything pertaining to the success of women in this world whether in the literary world or other matters should feel inspirational and liberated so that this feeling will help propel them to greater heights in whatever they do.
My final posting, next.
7.15 a.m. 4th September 2008
Love letters by John Keats are very inspirational to those lovebirds out there who are busy courting each other. Love letters are so powerful even when those being courted who play hard to get, would melt away just by the powerful words used. These letters can simply inspire those who are in love to come up with their own ways to write love letters. I can almost feel what the writer feels for the lady he loves and I am able to imagine the era the letters were written. From here we can also learn the way they lived and what goes through in the writer's mind when he writes. Though this is not a suitable topic for our students of lower forms, I feel these letters are vital when it comes to case studies for the upper secondary.
Andy Warhol's diary entries are somewhat personal but made public. From here we can see what he saw and how he lived and the people he had met when he was in the movie industry. We in turn, learn how most people who have connection with him have lived in glitz and glamour during those times. I reckon that he was living in a world full of gossips and rivalry. We can somewhat see what he went through and at times we can relate how he feels with what we have felt at some point in our lives. We can even distinguish the good and the bad feelings he had when he met certain people whom he liked and disliked. This in turn lets us know and be aware that we are open to people's criticism on us on the way we live, the way we carry ourselves, the way we speak and our actions. Indirectly, Andy Warhol's entries stir us to be wise at all times when we are to be in public eye or view or to have any business with people at large. Though it is important to know what the undertakings that a writer takes are, I feel entries such as these are not suitable for secondary school students in Malaysia as the entries are a little vulgar.
Essays by E.M. Forster and George Orwell are truly educational when it comes to enhancing ones vocabulary, strengthen one's word power and gaining fruitful ideas and is most suitable for students as these essays not only give them clues on how to go about writing but also give them some insights into how a writer feels when he/she is confronted with dangerous situation. In George Orwell's 'Shooting an Elephant', the writer is held accountable for his own actions. This will not only enhance the student's vocabularies and word power but they also learn to make wise judgements and to be truthful to themselves if they are confronted with similar situations in their lives. I for one, am an avid reader of essays be it of essays written from real accounts or by imagination and I must say that I used some of the ideas from my readings to write my own powerful essays during and since my school days. Because of the useful info I get from ample reading, I have at times manage to settle many issues in my life successfully.
The Critical Analysis of Literary Works such as the Reader Response Criticism is very informative and important because as an English teacher, I must utilize reader response in my lessons when reading a literary text so that learners can give their personal responses. The best part is that meaning is created by the reader. In order to see all this, I have to change my classroom's environment from teacher centered to learner centered where students are given the central position. This way, students will feel very interested as this will give them the opportunity to give their opinions and express themselves on certain text they are reading and this will not only invoke their desire to actively involve in their lesson but also will boost their self esteem. This will make them feel important as their contribution will be recognized. I have also found out the wonderful part of deconstruction done in literary texts, as this allows students to be more critical where at this point they have to examine what is silent and unsaid in literary texts.
Students can also read texts of different theories and ideologies such as from the Marxist Criticism, Psychological Criticism and Archetypal Criticism. Marxist Criticism helps students to understand how economic forces determine the lives of people in a society or societies. We can analyze using this criticism by looking at the estate workers and also the lives of rubber tappers in Malaysia. Students can learn about Psychological Criticism and utilize them whenever they are doing their critical studies on plays.
Many of us love to dream and some of us do believe in myths. Students who are prone to this will do their critical work using the Archetypal Criticism as both the author and the reader share some unconscious collective memories. This will give them the opportunity to be more analytical and critical in their readings and studies in general. This will also broaden their mind because of the information they receive from their readings. However, students need to be careful as there have been criticisms regarding each one of them.
There are many women who are movers and shakers and Feminist Criticism is a suitable avenue for students to do some critical study. This criticism allows readers to voice their concerns related to women in literary texts. How women are portrayed, positioned and represented in societies since time immemorial will truly inspire students to appreciate women's struggle for equal rights and freedom of speech and also freedom as a whole. Women's issues can be raised and discussed in literature classroom when reading literary texts by employing this Feminist Criticism. I am sure students will find women's successful achievements in a male dominated world truly inspirational in their readings and have an impact in their lives. Women all over who read anything pertaining to the success of women in this world whether in the literary world or other matters should feel inspirational and liberated so that this feeling will help propel them to greater heights in whatever they do.
My final posting, next.
Evaluation (continuation-part 1)
18th posting
11.07 p.m. 3rd September 2008
'The Storm' has given us another chance to weigh the pros and cons when it came to life's funny ways of 'disturbing peoples feelings'. Indirectly, we are also getting educated in terms of morals and how to uplift them.
Let's concentrate on the module now. Dr. Edwin's module has been a delightful read. Autobiographies of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela were truly inspirational, stories from fables, folktales etc have taught us good morale values and the teachings on the do's and don'ts plus the punishments meted on as a result of one's wrongdoings. They never fail to fascinate us again and again.
Poems like Erica Jong's 'The Rose' and Hillary Tham's 'Becoming a woman' is very much universal. Though I feel they are not suitable for young children but these poems of sort are very true in invoking our attention on issues that normally have been overlooked by the adults. Women of all generation (minus the young ones) can relate to what is being depicted in the poem to their lives. These poems can also be taken as educational to women all over. Stories from the minority groups are also an eye opener as they make us realize on how fortunate we are and that we should appreciate what life has given and still giving us.
Marginalized groups' works are somewhat patriotic as they remind people of the struggle one have to endure to gain freedom. This in turn, teaches us to be more appreciative and giving as we are a fortunate lot in anything that we wish to undertake unlike those who have to struggle for respect apart from freedom. Marginalized writers are more prone to writing works that make us see what an ugly thing it is to look at people base on their race, colour, creed, religion etc. instead of looking at people for their contribution towards societies and nations.
Next, love letters!
11.07 p.m. 3rd September 2008
'The Storm' has given us another chance to weigh the pros and cons when it came to life's funny ways of 'disturbing peoples feelings'. Indirectly, we are also getting educated in terms of morals and how to uplift them.
Let's concentrate on the module now. Dr. Edwin's module has been a delightful read. Autobiographies of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela were truly inspirational, stories from fables, folktales etc have taught us good morale values and the teachings on the do's and don'ts plus the punishments meted on as a result of one's wrongdoings. They never fail to fascinate us again and again.
Poems like Erica Jong's 'The Rose' and Hillary Tham's 'Becoming a woman' is very much universal. Though I feel they are not suitable for young children but these poems of sort are very true in invoking our attention on issues that normally have been overlooked by the adults. Women of all generation (minus the young ones) can relate to what is being depicted in the poem to their lives. These poems can also be taken as educational to women all over. Stories from the minority groups are also an eye opener as they make us realize on how fortunate we are and that we should appreciate what life has given and still giving us.
Marginalized groups' works are somewhat patriotic as they remind people of the struggle one have to endure to gain freedom. This in turn, teaches us to be more appreciative and giving as we are a fortunate lot in anything that we wish to undertake unlike those who have to struggle for respect apart from freedom. Marginalized writers are more prone to writing works that make us see what an ugly thing it is to look at people base on their race, colour, creed, religion etc. instead of looking at people for their contribution towards societies and nations.
Next, love letters!
Evaluation on my position paper, research paper and the module
17th posting
6.45 p.m. 3rd September 2008
From the evaluation that I have done, I have found that despite Miss. Emily's wrong doings, we are carried throughout the story without hate or resentfulness towards the character. Faulkner carefully gets our sympathy as if it was sort of fate that befall Miss. Emily, which carried on till her death. She is portrayed as a woman of substance, with strong will power and grit. She finally poisons her boyfriend, Homer Barron and lives and sleeps beside his corpse, holding on to the past as in the death of her father. Miss. Emily's character stands out as status symbol in her community.
On the other hand, in 'The Storm', we are given the chance to identify human feelings that head towards terrible outcomes in terrible circumstances. The way the story goes is pretty clear. Holy matrimony between couples is a sanctified agreement but then sex, lust and love don't seem to synergies at times. This is one of the major weaknesses of human beings when it comes to feelings which have been clearly shown to the readers by the author's choice of words and their strong word power. All of us have come across storms of many sorts at some point of time in our lives but the only thing that is obvious or shall I say is shocking, is the laid back attitudes of the adulterous couples in taking their sins committed very lightly. Even generally when we readers know this is wrong, we are forced to accept whether we like it or not that these circumstances are uncontrollable and sometimes bound to happen in a society and it is very much here to stay as this is part and parcel of life that we sometimes have to face. Offences committed in circumstantial situations whether they are done by consenting adults or otherwise, always deemed to question our opinion and challenge our judgement. So it is up to us to weigh the pros and cons of certain things considered offensive in order to navigate our lives more meaningfully.
There are more to my evaluation. So, keep on reading..
6.45 p.m. 3rd September 2008
From the evaluation that I have done, I have found that despite Miss. Emily's wrong doings, we are carried throughout the story without hate or resentfulness towards the character. Faulkner carefully gets our sympathy as if it was sort of fate that befall Miss. Emily, which carried on till her death. She is portrayed as a woman of substance, with strong will power and grit. She finally poisons her boyfriend, Homer Barron and lives and sleeps beside his corpse, holding on to the past as in the death of her father. Miss. Emily's character stands out as status symbol in her community.
On the other hand, in 'The Storm', we are given the chance to identify human feelings that head towards terrible outcomes in terrible circumstances. The way the story goes is pretty clear. Holy matrimony between couples is a sanctified agreement but then sex, lust and love don't seem to synergies at times. This is one of the major weaknesses of human beings when it comes to feelings which have been clearly shown to the readers by the author's choice of words and their strong word power. All of us have come across storms of many sorts at some point of time in our lives but the only thing that is obvious or shall I say is shocking, is the laid back attitudes of the adulterous couples in taking their sins committed very lightly. Even generally when we readers know this is wrong, we are forced to accept whether we like it or not that these circumstances are uncontrollable and sometimes bound to happen in a society and it is very much here to stay as this is part and parcel of life that we sometimes have to face. Offences committed in circumstantial situations whether they are done by consenting adults or otherwise, always deemed to question our opinion and challenge our judgement. So it is up to us to weigh the pros and cons of certain things considered offensive in order to navigate our lives more meaningfully.
There are more to my evaluation. So, keep on reading..
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Close to a wrap- summary of events in 'A Rose for Emily'
16th posting
11.25 a.m. 3rd September 2008
Since it is coming close to an end, let me summarize the events in William Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily' in a list instead of the normal convention of a summary.
1. Miss Emily's father dies and she does not admit and clings onto his body for three days. After much persuasion from the authorities and some of the towns people, only then did she agreed.
2. Miss Emily is left penniless except for the old rickety house her father has left her.
3. She meets Homer Barron and falls head over heels in love with him. He, on the other hand, jilts her which made her furious.
4. She in turn buys an arsenic poison from the drugstore and murders him, which is not explicit but comes to light in the end.
5. The alderman comes to collect tax from Miss. Emily, but she refuses to pay and did not acknowledge the tax and refers to Colonel Sartoris who has been dead long ago.
6. Miss. Emily dies and the town folks come for the funeral.
7. The town folks break open a room in the old mansion. To their horror they, found the skeleton of Homer Barron plus his belongings.
8. They have also found that there is a strand of hair which belonged to Miss. Emily on the indented pillow.
This is not the end of my posting yet. I have to let you know on the evaluation I have done based on Kate Chopin's 'The Storm', William Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily' and also Dr. Edwin's module. This is only the 16th posting. I have 4 more postings for you to read so, get ready for post number 17, next.
Cheers.
11.25 a.m. 3rd September 2008
Since it is coming close to an end, let me summarize the events in William Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily' in a list instead of the normal convention of a summary.
1. Miss Emily's father dies and she does not admit and clings onto his body for three days. After much persuasion from the authorities and some of the towns people, only then did she agreed.
2. Miss Emily is left penniless except for the old rickety house her father has left her.
3. She meets Homer Barron and falls head over heels in love with him. He, on the other hand, jilts her which made her furious.
4. She in turn buys an arsenic poison from the drugstore and murders him, which is not explicit but comes to light in the end.
5. The alderman comes to collect tax from Miss. Emily, but she refuses to pay and did not acknowledge the tax and refers to Colonel Sartoris who has been dead long ago.
6. Miss. Emily dies and the town folks come for the funeral.
7. The town folks break open a room in the old mansion. To their horror they, found the skeleton of Homer Barron plus his belongings.
8. They have also found that there is a strand of hair which belonged to Miss. Emily on the indented pillow.
This is not the end of my posting yet. I have to let you know on the evaluation I have done based on Kate Chopin's 'The Storm', William Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily' and also Dr. Edwin's module. This is only the 16th posting. I have 4 more postings for you to read so, get ready for post number 17, next.
Cheers.
Style and irony that is clear in 'A Rose for Emily'
15th posting
5.10 p.m. 2nd September 2008
The story is told from a non participant narrator's point of view. The writer gives us a vivid imagination of the house by using words to deepen the readers understanding by conveying the situation and also on exact details like: eyesore among eyesore, dust, dark, shadow, rats, disuse and dank smell. All these describes about decay and bad omens. There is clearly no cheerfulness about the story. Here again, the diction is used in such a way that the writer depicts in a real manner that can make any reader bring themselves into the story.
The words are cleverly chosen to give an impact on the readers about dreadful things like death itself. The irony would be that even though the character of Miss. Emily rejects the town people and the community folks, yet the folks feel it is their duty to know what happens to her. They even wrote to her relatives: "the next Sunday the minister's wife wrote to her relatives in Alabama".
Will come up with more information in my 16th posting later. Cheers.
5.10 p.m. 2nd September 2008
The story is told from a non participant narrator's point of view. The writer gives us a vivid imagination of the house by using words to deepen the readers understanding by conveying the situation and also on exact details like: eyesore among eyesore, dust, dark, shadow, rats, disuse and dank smell. All these describes about decay and bad omens. There is clearly no cheerfulness about the story. Here again, the diction is used in such a way that the writer depicts in a real manner that can make any reader bring themselves into the story.
The words are cleverly chosen to give an impact on the readers about dreadful things like death itself. The irony would be that even though the character of Miss. Emily rejects the town people and the community folks, yet the folks feel it is their duty to know what happens to her. They even wrote to her relatives: "the next Sunday the minister's wife wrote to her relatives in Alabama".
Will come up with more information in my 16th posting later. Cheers.
Monday, September 1, 2008
The atmosphere, theme and symbol created by William Faulkner in 'A Rose for Emily'
14 th posting
1.15 p.m. 2nd September 2008
William Faulkner has created the setting for this story in such a way that I actually feel that I am there seeing it for myself. I can imagine how the place looks like and the people plus their outfits, including Miss. Emily too. It could be due to my watching a lot of western movies that depicts all kinds of era, from 18th century up till now.
The setting of time in 'A Rose for Emily' is set somewhere in the year 1894 when there was black slavery in English towns. Slavery is very evident as Emily herself has a black servant who is very loyal to her. The setting of place is obviously got to be Miss. Emily's house which is all grey, dusty and old. This is evident and I quote "they were admitted by an old Negro into a dim hall from which a stairway mounted into still more shadow. It smelled of dust and misuse- a close dank smell. When they sat down, a faint dust rose sluggishly about their thighs, spinning with slow motes in the single sun-ray".
This short story's theme is not clearly implied by the narrator but could be considered as the pride of the Southerners in the past; the grandeur of their past meaning and the status of their people of that time, just as the Griersons.
As far as symbols are concerned, the rose gathered sympathy for the character, an Ebony cane with a tarnished gold head. The tarnished gold head can even symbolize the past grandeur which is just a note on paper of an archaic shape in a thin flowing calligraphy in faded ink. The invisible watch ticking at the end of the gold chain shows that the eerie silence that prevailed in Emily's house. The strand of hair which was found on her pillow which had indentation is a strong symbol to this story. It shows how Miss. Emily held on to the past.
1.15 p.m. 2nd September 2008
William Faulkner has created the setting for this story in such a way that I actually feel that I am there seeing it for myself. I can imagine how the place looks like and the people plus their outfits, including Miss. Emily too. It could be due to my watching a lot of western movies that depicts all kinds of era, from 18th century up till now.
The setting of time in 'A Rose for Emily' is set somewhere in the year 1894 when there was black slavery in English towns. Slavery is very evident as Emily herself has a black servant who is very loyal to her. The setting of place is obviously got to be Miss. Emily's house which is all grey, dusty and old. This is evident and I quote "they were admitted by an old Negro into a dim hall from which a stairway mounted into still more shadow. It smelled of dust and misuse- a close dank smell. When they sat down, a faint dust rose sluggishly about their thighs, spinning with slow motes in the single sun-ray".
This short story's theme is not clearly implied by the narrator but could be considered as the pride of the Southerners in the past; the grandeur of their past meaning and the status of their people of that time, just as the Griersons.
As far as symbols are concerned, the rose gathered sympathy for the character, an Ebony cane with a tarnished gold head. The tarnished gold head can even symbolize the past grandeur which is just a note on paper of an archaic shape in a thin flowing calligraphy in faded ink. The invisible watch ticking at the end of the gold chain shows that the eerie silence that prevailed in Emily's house. The strand of hair which was found on her pillow which had indentation is a strong symbol to this story. It shows how Miss. Emily held on to the past.
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