More Death of a Salesman and Quoting A Play!!

Interactive Map of Upward Mobility in America:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/22/business/in-climbing-income-ladder-location-matters.html?_r=0

Disillusionment Links:

http://www.psychologysalon.com/2011/04/disillusionment-as-goal-for-therapy.html

http://family-marriage-counseling.com/mentalhealth/relationship-basics.htm

http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/disillusionment-213699.html

http://reis.socialpsychology.org/

NYTimes review of a recent production:

http://theater.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/theater/reviews/death-of-a-salesman-with-philip-seymour-hoffman.html

http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsM/miller-arthur.html

Quoting a Play!

Quote dialogue between two or more characters by also using block format and putting the characters' names in all capital letters. Don't forget a lead-in and a citation that includes all speeches being quoted. Willy's delusions consistently show how much Happy and Bernard idolized Biff, especially when they argue over who will carry his football gear:

BERNARD. Biff, I'm carrying your helmet, ain't I?
HAPPY.  No, I'm carrying the helmet.
BERNARD. Oh, Biff, you promised me.
HAPPY. I'm carrying the helmet. (Miller 34)

Notice that there is a period after the character’s name not a colon. So it is the author’s last name followed by the PAGE numbers. Remember again that you are always explaining quotes in your own words. 

Death of a Salesman

This link provides a number of links from the NY Times on the play:

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/teaching-death-of-a-salesman-with-the-new-york-times/

Death of a Salesman (1949) Death of a Salesman relates the story of Willy Loman, a down-on-his-luck traveling salesman. In order to cope with his failures in life, he retreats to the past in his mind and seems to be losing touch with reality. He tries to relive the good times, but keeps coming up against things that went wrong. His family try to help him by lying about their prospects, but when Loman loses his job, after a lifetime with the same company, he becomes desperate. His depression is exacerbated by the guilt he feels from a past infidelity which has estranged him from his older son, Biff. Rather than accept that his life has been a failure, and that Biff is not interested in big business, Loman decides to commit suicide in hopes that the insurance money will help Biff become successful. The play ends with his family and only friend, Charley, grieving by his graveside. 

Here is a really long look at Death of  A Salesman:

http://www.ibiblio.org/miller/DeathofaSalesmanMAThesis2004.pdf

Symbolism in Death of  A Salesman:

http://www.ibiblio.org/miller/gardens.html

Obsession and Howard Hughes

All the links below deal obsession:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/fashion/obsessed-youre-not-alone.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/articles/disorders/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-calla/the-difference-between-lo_b_562589.html

http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-love-and-obsession/

http://www.sociopathworld.com/2011/04/power-and-obsessions.html

Howard Hughes:

http://www.biography.com/people/howard-hughes-9346282

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/chasingthesun/innovators/hhughes.html

ESSAY DUE THURSDAY JULY 25 (LATE PAPERS DO NOT GET REVISION AND DROP AN ½ GRADE FOR EACH DAY THEY ARE LATE) A>A- B+>B>B-…

3 PAGES, DOUBLE SPACED, SIZE 12 TIMES NEW ROMAN

USE TWO OUTSIDE SOURCES (NOT INCLUDING THE TEXT!) AND QUOTE THE PRIMARY TEXTS AS WELL.

USE THE EXAMPLE PAPER HANDOUT FOR MLA GUIDELINES!!

This link will also help with MLA questions:

owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01

Refer to the class blog for outside source info: english215summer2.blogspot.com/

 Pick ONE of the essay topics below for your paper.

1. Illusion vs. reality is something that comes up in a lot of literature. We saw some in The Great Gatsby. Pick one aspect of a character’s life, whether it be from the past or the present, and explain how he/she uses illusions to distort their reality. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

2.      Pick one or two of the many symbols from the novel and describe why it is important. What does this symbol mean in to this particular text? Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

3.      How does Gatsby represent the American dream? What does the novel have to say about the condition of the American dream in the 1920s? In what ways do the themes of dreams, wealth, and time relate to each other in the novel’s exploration of the idea of America?

4.      Is Nick a reliable narrator? We do not have much choice but to believe what he says throughout the novel so decide if he is and prove your point. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

5.      Compare and contrast Gatsby and Tom OR compare Gatsby to Charlie from Babylon Revisited.” How are they alike? How are they different? Given the extremely negative light in which Tom is portrayed throughout the novel, why might Daisy choose to remain with him instead of leaving him for Gatsby?

6.      Jay Gatsby and Howard Hughes from The Aviator are both men with extreme wealth and clear issues with obsession in their lives. Compare and contrast the two characters. Talk about how obsession ruined their lives. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

• Your introduction should include:

1)       Title and authors of primary (stories we have read in class) texts

2)       Your thesis (Which depends on the question you write about from above)

• Never end a paragraph with a quote.
• Cite outside sources within in your text; if it appears on your works cited page it has to be used in the paper (direct quotes or paraphrasing).
• Always keep in mind: is this quote proving and supporting my thesis? If not, do not use it!
• WITHOUT A WORKS CITED PAGE OR OUTSIDE SOURCES THE PAPER WILL FAIL

Slide Show of Gatsby's Expenses

http://visual.ly/was-great-gatsby-broke

More Gatsby

http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bmangum/gatsby.htm

http://mobile.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2013/05/the_great_gatsby_directed_by_baz_luhrmann_reviewed.html

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/low_concept/2012/07/hemingway_wrote_47_endings_for_a_farewell_to_arms_but_for_the_great_gatsby_fitzgerald_wrote_48_.html

http://onpoint.wbur.org/2013/05/10/great-gatsby-movie

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/05/was-the-great-gatsby-broke.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2013/05/07/in-defense-of-the-great-gatsby/

http://www.firstprinciplesjournal.com/articles.aspx?article=166&theme=home

The Great Gatsby Comic Strip

More Gatsby Links

This link discusses some random facts about the novel and the writer:

http://gothamist.com/2013/05/07/gatsby_facts.php

The Wire breaks down The Great Gatsby (There is some strong language here):

http://www.openculture.com/2012/08/ithe_wirei_breaks_down_ithe_great_gatsbyi_f_scott_fitzgeralds_classic_criticism_of_america_nsfw.html

Footage of Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda:

http://www.openculture.com/2012/11/rare_footage_of_scott_and_zelda_fitzgerald_from_the_1920s.html

Gatsby Links, Movie Reviews and Nintendo Video Game

Taking a few mintues to read some background information on the author will enhance your understanding of the text.

Here are a few quotes to also think about from the text:
 “ Whenever you feel like criticizing any one…just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (1).

“”a single green light, minute and faraway, that might have been the end of a dock” (22).

”He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced–or seemed to face–the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself” (48).

“Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (60).


Below is the link to a number of outside sources for the second essay:
http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/Fitzgerald.htm

The game looks like the whole Nintendo video games. Kind of like Super Mario Bros.
Here are some links about the game:
http://theweek.com/article/index/212144/the-great-gatsby-video-game

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/07/the_great_gatsby_now_a_video_g.html

http://boingboing.net/2011/02/16/great-gatsby-nes-gam.html

This link provides a link to where you can play the game:
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/02/15/play-the-great-gatsby-video-game/

Here is a youtube video of the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjWKrz7yogM

Here is a list of sites about Fitzgerald:

A Brief Life of Fitzgerald

http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/biography.html

The quote “The dominant influences on F. Scott Fitzgerald were aspiration, literature, Princeton, Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, and alcohol” begins this biographical sketch of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Contains:Commentary, Sketch

Keywords:F. Scott Fitzgerald, life, history, biography

 

A Fitzgerald Capsule History

http://access.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/9609_fitzgerald/fitztime.htm

This site, made by Minnesota Public Radio, commemorating Fitzgerald’s 100th birthday, provides a chronology of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life.

Contains:Timeline

Keywords:F. Scott Fitzgerald, life, history, biography

 

A Fitzgerald Chronology

http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/chronology.html

This site provides a chronology of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s life.

Contains:Timeline

Keywords:F. Scott Fitzgerald, life, history, biography

 

Fitzgerald’s Obituaries

http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/obituaries.html

Fitzgerald’s obituaries were mixed. There was a general tendency to associate him with the excesses of the Twenties. The respectful obituaries expressed a sense of regret for Fitzgerald’s failure to fulfill his promise. None of the assessments predicted that Fitzgerald would be accorded a safe place among the greatest American authors.”

Contains:Obituary

Keywords:

 

The Fitzgeralds

http://www.zeldafitzgerald.com/fitzgeralds/index.asp

This site primarily contains biographical information about F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Contains:Extensive Bio, Timeline, Webliography, Works List

Author:Professor Ruth Prigozy

Keywords:

 

 Other sites about F. Scott Fitzgerald

Authors on Fitzgerald: How others past and present view the man and his works

http://access.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/9609_fitzgerald/fitzauthors.htm

This site contains quotes from other famous authors about F. Scott Fitzgerald. Some of these authors include Ernest Hemmingway, T. S. Eilot, and Dorothy Parker.

Contains:Commentary

Keywords:

 

F. Scott Fitzgerald Bibliographies

http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/bibindex.html

This site contains links to “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Publications,” “Principal Works About F. Scott Fitzgerald,” and “Works by Zelda Fitzgerald.”

Contains:Bibliography, Works List

Keywords:

 

The F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary

http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/index.html

Sponsored by the Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina this comprehensive site includes links to works by F. Scott and Zelda Fitgerald, voice and film clips, quotations, and scrapbook, articles and critisim and more.

Contains:Criticism, Commentary, Pictures, Timeline, Full Bio, Works List, Bibliography, Webliography

Author:J. Baughman

Keywords:

 

Fitzgerald: Voice and Film Clips

http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/voice.html

This site contains sound files of F. Scott Fitzgerald speaking and a film clip of him as well.

Contains:Interview

Keywords:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/opinion/sunday/dowd-in-a-gaudy-theme-park-jay-z-meets-j-gatz.html?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=OP_IAG_20130506

 

Babylon Revisited

Criticism:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00144940.1990.9934031

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-94-007-0773-3_8?LI=true

Themes found in the story:

• Facing the consequences of one’s actions
• The struggle to change

Symbols found in the story:

• Honoria’s doll
• Snow

This link has some background information and criticism of the story (there is a lot of info here that could be used if you choose to write your first essay about this story):

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tdlarson/fsf/babylon/chap_3.htm

In two weeks we will discuss The Great Gatsby which “Babylon Revisited” shares many themes and issues with. Here is a short description of how they are similar:

“Babylon Revisited”: Similarity to The Great Gatsby
In both works, the main character is trying to create a new identity. In the case of Jay Gatsby, he has reinvented himself by a name change and by becoming rich through criminal acts to win Daisy. In Charlie’s instance, he has made a serious effort to reform to gain custody of Honoria.
Both The Great Gatsby and “Babylon Revisited” are also statements about the twenties, the pursuit of wealth and careless living of that generation. Gatsby’s pursuit of wealth, hoping it will bring him happiness and fulfillment, is the embodiment of the American Dream gone wrong. “Babylon Revisited” makes a statement not only about Charlie’s his personal dilemma but the irresponsible seeking of pleasure that was characteristic of the post-war Roaring Twenties generation.

From: http://vickie-britton.suite101.com/babylon-revisited-summary-and-analysis-a204727

Syllabus

Modern Literary Masterpieces

ENG215 Essex County College Summer 2 2013

Prof. Sean O’Connell                                                  M/T/W/R 2:00-3:40

Email:soconnel@essex.edu     

Phone: 973-877-1926                                                   Office: 1141

Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 1:00-2:00              Room: 2116                    

                                                                                   

Texts: YOU NEED TO BUY THE TEXTS!!!

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

*In class assignments will be handwritten; all homework assignments should be typed and double spaced using 12-point Times New Roman font.

Class Blog: Visit the blog in between classes for assignments/outside sources and more.

english215summer2.blogspot.com/

THERE ARE NO LATE PAPERS. IF YOU DO NOT HAND IN A PAPER ON THE DAY IT IS DUE, YOU WILL RECEIVE AN F FOR THAT PAPER.

YOU MUST HAND ME EACH PAPER. EMAIL IS NOT GOING TO WORK FOR FORMAL ESSAYS.

Below is subject to change:

M 7/8 INTRO

T 7/9 Babylon Revisited

W 7/10 The Great Gatsby (1-2)

R 7/11 The Great Gatsby (3-4)

M 7/15 The Great Gatsby (5-6)

T 7/16 The Great Gatsby (7-8)

W 7/17 The Great Gatsby (Finish Novel)

R 7/18 Outside Sources Discussion

M 7/22 (Film)

T 7/23 (Film), Assign Essay

W 7/24 Death of A Salesman

R 7/25 Death of A Salesman

M 7/29 Death of A Salesman

T 7/30 Death of A Salesman , Essay Due

W 7/31 The Pursuit of Happyness  (Film)

R 8/1 The Pursuit of Happyness  (Film)

M 8/5 Fight Club

T 8/6 Fight Club

W 8/7 Fight Club

R 8/8 Assign Essay, Fight Club

M 8/12 WORK ON PAPER

T 8/13 WORK ON PAPER

W 8/14 WORK ON PAPER

R 8/15 FINAL ESSAY DUE