Discuss Your Reading: Interpreting Acts 3 and 4

Discuss Your Reading: Interpreting Acts 3 and 4

Discussion Topic

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The play Hedda Gabler never openly states that Hedda is pregnant. However, many who've seen or read the play believe this to be true. What do you think?

Post a response that answers the following questions:

• Do you believe Hedda was pregnant? Support your position.
• How do you think a pregnancy affects the drama?

As a follow-up, post a question or comment about one of your classmates' interpretations.

Click your reading guide for some interpretive notes and questions to consider from Professor Robinson.

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.

Discuss Your Reading: Interpreting Acts 1 and 2

Discussion Topic

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What do you think of the characters in the play Hedda Gabler? Many people, for example, think Hedda is unethical, spoiled, and rude. Even so, Henrik Ibsen manages to create sympathy for her.

For this discussion, pick one of the major characters in Hedda Gabler and post a response to the following:

• What do you like or dislike about this character?
• What makes this character interesting to you?
• Select an interaction this character has with another character in the play. What does this interaction reveal about the character?

As a follow-up, post a question or comment about one of your classmates' postings. Do you agree or disagree with the interpretation of the character your classmate selected?

Your study sheet will tell you more about the characters in the play. Your reading guide will give you additional questions to think about from Professor Robinson.

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.

Discuss Your Reading: The Poems of Robert Frost

Discussion Topic

Now you'll have a chance to discuss your interpretations of "Design" and "The Most of It" by focusing on the speakers in each poem. Post a message that responds to one or more of the following questions:

• Who is the speaker in each poem?
• Is the speaker's identity important? Why or why not?
• How is the speaker revealed in each poem?
• What are the qualities of the two speakers?
• How are the two speakers either alike or different?

As a follow-up posting, ask a question of your own or post whether you agree or disagree, and why, with a classmate's interpretations.

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.

Discuss Your Reading: The Collar

Discussion Topic

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In George Herbert's "The Collar," the speaker begins by voicing an intense resistance to divine authority. But by the end of the story the speaker has moved to a position of profound yielding. Post a message that responds to one or more of the following questions:

• In what ways does the symbol of the collar appropriately represent the relationship depicted in the poem?
• What is the paradox at the heart of the metaphor of the collar (the conceit)? How is the tension of the paradox resolved?
• What things constrain the speaker? What's the speaker's attitude toward these constraints? Is his attitude consistent throughout the poem?

As a follow-up posting, state whether you agree or disagree, and why, with a classmate's interpretation of the poem.

Click your focus sheet to learn more about symbols in literature.

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.

Discuss Your Reading: High Holy Days

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Discussion Topic

In this activity, you'll discuss your ideas about the poem "High Holy Days." Post a message that responds to one or more of the following questions:

• How would you characterize the speaker? Who is she? What's her attitude toward what she's describing and encountering over the course of the poem? Does her attitude or tone change at all?
• What's the purpose of including seemingly unnecessary, narrative details in the poem? These include references to the itchy suit the speaker wears, the yarmulke covering her father's bald spot, how her mother readjusts her skirt, etc. What does the speaker communicate by including such details?

As a follow-up posting, ask a question of your own or state whether you agree or disagree, and why, with a classmate's interpretation of the poem.

Click your reading guide to learn about motive and purpose and how they're relevant to these discussion questions.

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.

Classwork & Discussion: November 5, 2010

1. Take out your rough draft to show the substitute. He will be checking this as a project assignment.

2. Complete your blog entry on Sweat.

3. Take the final Quiz in the 2.1 Unit. Due by the end of today.

4. In the comments below, comment on your first draft. What difficulties did you have? How is this similar or different from writing a rhetorical essay?

5. Peer edit with one other person (annotate and write a letter to your partner) and bring in your rough draft in for conferencing on Monday.

2.1.8: Discuss Your Reading: Sweat

Discussion Topic

Keeping in mind this relationship, post a message that responds to one or more of the following questions about Delia and Sykes:

• Why do you think Delia has put up with Sykes for so long when he treats her so badly?
• What makes her start standing up to him? What does Sykes have to do with it? Does he inadvertently help her gain strength? How?
• Why do you think Delia decides not to help Sykes after the snake has bitten him? Do you think she made a reasonable decision or not?

As a follow-up posting, comment on whether you agree or disagree, and why, with a classmate's posting.

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.

Discussion 2.1.6

Discuss Your Reading: The Story of an Hour

Discussion Topic

"The Story of an Hour" tells of Mrs. Mallard's reaction to her husband's death and, then, her reaction to that news being false. Writing in the late 1800s, Kate Chopin believed that American authors faced "limitations... hamper[ing] a full and spontaneous expression"; the same could be said about Chopin's main character.

In this discussion, post a message responding to one or more of the following questions about this story:

• How would you describe the tone and mood of the story?
• What specific details contribute to creating the tone and mood?
• How does the tone shift with the progression of the story?

As a follow-up posting, respond to a classmate's thoughts about the tone and mood of the story. Do you agree or disagree with the interpretation? Why?

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.

Discussion 2.1.4

Discuss Your Reading: What Motivates the Narrator?

Discussion Topic

Understanding what motivates a narrator is key to interpreting a work of fiction. Post a message that responds to one or more of the following questions about the narrator in James Joyce's short story "Araby":

• What striking images help you understand the narrator's feelings?
• What reveals the narrator's attitude toward his home?
• What do you know about the physical appearance of the narrator? What do you know about how he thinks?
• What effect is produced by the difference between narrator as character and narrator as storyteller?

As a follow-up posting, respond to a classmate's thoughts about the narrator in the story. Do you agree or disagree with their interpretations? Why?

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.

1.3.3

Any Questions?

Discussion Topic

Here's a chance to compare notes with the other students in your section, see what people found interesting, and help each other understand the material. Sometimes hearing another student's question makes you aware of something you're confused about, and answering a question for another student helps to clarify your understanding.

Your initial posting in this activity should be one of the following:

• Your description of one reading, activity, or idea from this unit you found interesting or surprising.
• A question about something that confuses you. Another student or your instructor will answer it. (Your instructor will monitor this discussion to make sure the answers posted are accurate. If you see an answer posted by another student that you're not sure is correct, post your concerns or ask your instructor about it.)

As a follow-up posting, consider answering a question posted by another student (if you're sure of what you're talking about!). Or, if you have a similar question, add to the existing question.

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.

Discussion 1.2.6

What Is Your Writing Process?

Discussion Topic

Everyone gears up to write differently. Some people plan in advance and work on a paper a little at a time; others wait and begin the night before it's due. What's your writing process? In this discussion, you'll share your writing successes and challenges with your classmates. Post a paragraph or two that addresses one or more of the following questions:

• How formally do you follow a writing process?
• Do you usually follow all the steps of prewriting, writing, and revising?
• Do you find these steps helpful?
• What are your strengths as a writer?
• What areas do you think need improvement?
• Do you have any advice to share about how you interpret and write about literature?

In your follow-up posting, see if you can help out a classmate or two with some great writing advice!

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.

Discussion 1.2.3

Discussion Topic

Before you participate in this discussion, read John Updike's story, "A & P," found on pages 177-181 of Short Fiction: An Anthology, pages 742-746 of The Story and Its Writer, 5th edition, on pages 781-785 of the 6th edition, or on pages 783-787 of the 7th edition.

click for your reading guide

Click your reading guide for helpful hints on reading this story.

Post a response to one or more of the questions below. As a follow up, post a response to a classmate's posting. Do you agree or disagree with your classmates' interpretations?

1. The first 11 paragraphs provide the exposition for the story. Why is the information gained about Sammy at the beginning of the story vital to the story's development?
2. From Sammy's language, what do you learn about him and his view of himself?
3. Updike violates rules of standard written English starting in the first line of the story, "In walks these three girls." From the misuse of the preposition, to the running together of adjectives, Updike abandons conventional English to establish, among other things, a conversational tone. What does this accomplish? Did this help entice you into the story, or not?
4. Why does Sammy quit his job with so little provocation? Is there any evidence he hates his job? Explain why you think Sammy quit his job, using direct quotations from the story.
5. Sammy's voice pulls readers into "A & P." How?

Hints & Tips

• Discussion activities in this course are somewhat more casual than written assignments, but you should still practice basic rules of composition. Use a thesis statement to help frame your answer, and include adequate evidence from the story to back up your assertions. Remember to proofread your answer before posting it.
• Do you prefer reading an essay or discussion question first, before reading the passage itself? Some students find it depends on the genre. Although they may like reading a prose passage first and then examining the question, some suggest they'd rather read the question before tackling a poem. Try it both ways to see which works best for you.
• Note: A & P is a huge grocery chain established in 1859 by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company.

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.

Discussion 1.1.3

Welcome to your first course discussion. This activity will give you an opportunity to meet your instructor and classmates. Post a paragraph or two about who you are, where you're from, and what hobbies or activities you're involved with. In addition, respond to one or more of the following questions:

• What do you like to read in your free time?
• Do you write poetry or short stories or keep a journal? Please explain.
• What makes a piece of literature most meaningful or memorable to you?
• Do you have any advice to share about something that has changed the way you read literature?

Scoring

This discussion is worth a maximum of 15 points. You'll get 10 points for your first posting. Your instructor will give you another 5 points if you post a follow-up comment or question that furthers the discussion.