Final Exam

Choose ONE of the following questions and write a 2-3 page essay responding to the prompt and supporting your claim with specific evidence from the story of your choosing. You can use your book, notes, or any other material you find useful. When you have completed the essay, please email it to dlupton@email.unc.edu.

Many of the stories we've read this semester have been rather cryptic, or at least required closer and more sustained attention than some others. Choose a story whose point wasn't immediately obvious to you on the first reading or a story about which your opinion changed substantially after re-reading and/or class discussion. Explain how your reading process gradually grew deeper, and speculate why the author might have "hidden" his or her point rather than making it more obvious.

Choose a story that has a setting substantially different from the world we inhabit. What do 21st century American readers gain from reading this story? In other words, how does the story navigate the divide between the particulars of its setting and more universally applicable themes?

Choose a story with an ending that is unconventional, surprising, or intriguing. What were some of the author's other options for ending the story? Why do you think that the author chose the option he or she did? How does it relate to the story's wider themes?

Paper #2 Due Date

Just to clear up any confusion, I want to reiterate that paper #2 will be due at our final exam meeting. 

Draft Workshop: Paper #2

Begin by going to drive.google.com, creating a new Google Doc and pasting your draft into it. Share the document with dlupton79@gmail.com and turn in a link to it here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1f8HYf9U1tT8qZ7CMN9TbVScuooDi3bNZsBk7-e0deao/viewform

Next, choose TWO of your group members whose drafts you will read and respond to. For each, copy and paste the following questions into their Google Doc (they will need to share it with you first). Read the paper and respond thoughtfully to each of these questions. Devote about 30 minutes to each essay; you should have time to read both during class, and the detail and clarity of your responses will factor into your paper grade.

Read your partner’s draft closely at least once before completing this sheet.

1. Begin by identifying the paper’s thesis statement. Does it make a specific and surprising claim about the interpretation of the text? Does it identify specific formal features of the text that support that claim? Suggest any ways in which the thesis statement might be improved.

2. Based on your understanding of the story, is the draft’s argument surprising or interesting? Why or why not?

3. Do you notice anything about the story that you would have expected the author to write about, yet it wasn’t covered in the draft? This might be a prominent formal feature (diction, syntax, etc.), a powerful image or metaphor, or something else entirely.

4. Are there any parts of the story that do not seem consistent with the author’s argument? Can these parts be reconciled with the author’s thesis? If so, how?

5. Compose a brief retrospective outline of the draft in which you identify each paragraph’s main idea in 3-5 words. Note any paragraphs that do not have clear (or clearly expressed) topic sentences, any paragraphs whose main idea does not relate clearly back to the thesis statement, and any paragraph that seems to have insufficient support for its main idea.

6. Identify any parts of the draft that, as a reader, you have difficulty understanding or following. Try your best to determine the cause of this difficulty; is the passage obscurely or confusingly worded? Is it insufficiently connected to the paragraph’s or the paper’s main idea? Provide your partner with any feedback that you think could help sustain the reader’s attention.

Your feedback for BOTH drafts is due 24 HOURS AFTER CLASS ENDS. When you have finished the first workshop, turn it in here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1bJwpScWP3_DOQVMeG-0ee3c4eFAUqiCm7XjD9gvwAyU/viewform

and when you have finished the second, turn it in here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lo4gMQ0leBtyuWYWs4LPXeE7-v2zsoIBKG5-KOAt4fw/viewform

Activity: Harrison Bergeron

Identify the paradox present in this short story. Use evidence to support your text. (Hint: The paradox is emphasized towards the end of the story). Why do you think Vonnegut decided to end the short story with a dance scene, and what is the significance of this scene? How does the style of the story change in this passage?

Do you think it is significant that Vonegut decided to intensify the sounds in the short story as the story progressed? If so, why? 

Should the ultimate goal of American policy/action be equality? If not, then what should be the goal? 

It is stated in the story that Hazel Bergeron bore a resemblance to Diana Moon Glampers. Hazel also states that she’d make a good Handicapper General if she were one. Hazel isn’t described with having a handicap and is mentioned in the story of having average intelligence. What do you think Hazel stating she’d make a good general mean? Does Hazel have a distorted view of things based on the propaganda given by the television, or does it imply that there is more to her than meets the eye? Is it also possible that she is related to Glampers?

Do you think Harrison’s performance triggered any emotion in the public? Despite the ending of the performance, do you think it is possible for people to be influenced by this sort of rebellion and be pushed to defy government standard? Why or why not?

Think about when this story was published and relate it to the context of the story. In what way does the time period affect Vonnegut’s depiction of this dystopian science fiction story? 

Activity: Three Deaths

Tolstoy chooses to refer to characters by two different names/terms, and also chooses to reveal some of the names until later, such as Marya and Uncle Khveodor/Feodor. Why do you think he does this? Does this add anything to the story or take away from it? How (if at all) would the story change if all the characters' names were given the first time they were mentioned?

The title of the story shows us that there will be three deaths, but there are four chapters in the story, in one of which no death occurs. Is there any purpose in doing this? What do you think is the point of splitting up the story into four chapters? Is there a reason that Tolstoy alternates between the two story lines between chapters?

Throughout the three scenarios of death in Leo Tolstoy's short story the prospect of death is often juxtaposed with the vivaciousness and joys of life. Give examples of some of these instances. Do you believe that Tolstoy has a meaning behind his placement of such life-filled characters to those who were nearing or experiencing death?

Two of the three deaths in Three Deaths were humans. What do you think the purpose was of showcasing the death of a tree? Did this death occur at the end of the story by strategy or mere coincidence? Why or why not? 

After viewing the distinctions between two classes in society when confronting death, how do you think the middle class in today’s society would respond? What similarities and differences would exist?

In the story, we saw how stubborn Marya was and how selfless Uncle Feodor was. With today’s technology and advancements, how would someone react in similar situations? Would you see them being stubborn, selfless, or something else? 

Reading Quiz 11-21

The final reading quiz! Yay!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1tuYDQY4oX3xUq5faERsFl9PBMuP2OlklzNMahL-L1v0/viewform

The Circle of Life:

 

Three Deaths, a work by Leo Tolstoy, explores a phenomenon that is experienced by all, yet the prospects of it do not have a universal understanding—the occurrence of death. Regardless of who you are, what background you may come from, or your views on the afterlife, every living being will at some point be faced with imminent death. In this short story, the reader is introduced to three protagonists who have encountered this inescapable aspect of Nature. The first subject is a noblewoman who prolongs her death, the second is a poor coach driver who has come to accept his time and the last being an “ancient, immovable” (588) tree whose death comes unexpectedly. Even though the author places focus on the way each subject handles dying, the underlying message and point of this story is depicted mostly through those who surround them in their process of dying. The contrasting scenarios of these three figures points out a common theme among them all; the theme of the cycle of life from degeneration to renewal. Tolstoy uses these three characters, as well as the beings surrounding them as an outlet to express the significance of the circle of life.

During her carriage ride in Chapter One, the old lady is constantly wincing from the pain of her ailment. Throughout this ride, the old lady’s “weariness, irascibility, and habitual suffering” (579) is sharply contrasted by the presence of her maid, who was a healthy young lady with a “fresh face” (579), fat hands, and strong legs. The juxtaposition of the old lady with her younger counterpart gives the reader an initial insight to the idea of comparing those who are facing death with those who are alive and well. The ‘invalid’ woman is startled by the prospect of her death and wishes to prolong her life by seeking medical attention in the warmth of Italy. Those who surround her strongly believe that it would be a waste for her to travel, predicting that she could by no means handle such a trip. Begrudgingly the old lady accepts their presumptions and they all return back to their mansion. In Chapter Three, the old lady is revisited a few months later, when the trees are “full of life and brilliancy” (584). At this point the elderly woman’s health has almost completely left her, and up ‘til her last breath, the woman is still unaccepting of her approaching fate. During her last moments, as well as the moments during her funeral, the story flashes to children playing and being joyful, with the distant rooms echoing of “the voice of children and their romping” (587). This imagery further expounds upon the theme of old life exiting to allow fresh, new life to enter.

No longer possessing the strength to move the old, sick driver, Khveodor is cooped up upon the top of an oven as he patiently waits for his death. The old man is aware that his “death is at hand” (584) and he has no issue ‘lending’ his new pair of boots to a young boy, Seryoha. This exchange was given under one condition; that the young fellow would purchase a headstone to adorn the site of his grave. The old man’s willingness to give away his pair of shoes in exchange for a headstone further illustrated that he was accepting his impending death. Since he knew that he no longer needed the new boots, he was at peace with the prospect of giving them to the younger generation.

Having illustrated the deaths of two characters who were knowledgeable of their demise, Tolstoy introduces one final death which is arguably the most prominent and powerful display of the purpose of his story. Seryoha, the young boy who promised the old man a headstone, made a trek into the heart of the forest one early morning to chop down a tree fit to construct a cross with. During the blows of the axe, the tree is personified as being full of life. With its “juicy leaves” whispering to the birds and the base “shuddering with fear” (588), the tree eventually falls to “rest like all the others with their foliage” (588). As sad as the prospect of the trees death may be, the other trees were more joyous than ever, “slowly and majestically” (588) waving their hands over the dead tree. The sunbeams broke through the clouds and gleamed toward the heavens.

The three deaths showcased in this story go to prove that even though death is a definite and sometimes unnerving prospect, happiness and joyfulness can and will continue after death. Living beings must die in order to create space for fresh, new life to emerge and thrive. No matter how long one may postpone their death, the cycle of life is an unchangeable and even beautiful phenomenon.