Concluding Remarks: Cummings Syntactic fragmentation suggests the inconsistency, incoherence, and ambiguity of the speaker’s words Repetition of clichés, especially given their ideological source (patriotic songs), suggests lack of rigor in thought and reliance upon preformed “meanings”

William Faulkner (1897-1962)

Major Works The Sound and the Fury (1929) As I Lay Dying (1930) Light in August (1932) Absalom, Absalom! (1936)

Yoknapatawpha County

Status Which social groups in Taiwan have status? What is the (historical) source of this status? Which groups have lost status compared to the past? What accounts for this change?

The Southeast US What characterizes the southeast United States, the setting of the story, as a distinct region? You might consider its social make up, history, economic organization, etc. in light of discussions and texts last semester.

Characters Emily Grierson Colonel Sartoris Tobe Judge Stevens Homer Barron we, us, the ladies of Jefferson, etc.

Faulkner’s Treatment of Time Describe the timeframe of the story. Why is it complex? Why does Faulkner organize his story in this way instead of simply following chronological order?

General Timeline Emily’s death (74 y.o.) and status at that time/1920s (1/2182) Social position in 1894 (1/2182) Subsequent position one generation later (tax problem)/c. 1910 (1/2182) 30 years earlier (the smell)/1896 (2/2183) Father’s death/Emily 30 y.o./1894 (3) Relation with Homer and his disappearance/1895 (4-5) The smell, again (6) Emily has grey hair (6)

Other Complicated Timeframes What other stories do you recall as possessing complicated timeframes? How do they compare to Faulkner’s? What motivated these complex treatments of time?

Types of Conflicts Several conflicts arise, for instance: social/class conflicts gendered conflicts generational conflicts regional prejudices (noting names) racial conflicts Find evidence of these conflicts. How are they resolved, or are they? How does the idea of resolution change over time?

Social Focus Primacy of tradition Primacy of class/status Primacy of etiquette

Locating the Narrator Who is the narrator? passages: 3, 6-7 Why does the narrator continually use “we” instead of I or some other narrative marker? Is the narrator omniscient? Unreliable? Is he (?) prejudiced in some way? Is it the same narrator throughout?

Change and Decline Decline and decadence are common literary themes. Note how this theme functions in the story. passages: 1 (state of the house), 1-2 (taxes), 5-6 (painting lessons), death (6) What attitude (or tone) is conveyed by these descriptions?

Emily’s Power At more than one point (and despite the suggestion that she is weak), Emily exerts power over others—name some examples of this from the story. Sometimes this power is exerted without her even being present. What accounts for this power? Why do others generally acquiesce to her will? Can you find contemporary examples of this kind of power for us?

Examples The tax problem The smell The potential witness in Tobe The “rat” poison The Baptist minister Avoiding a murder charge (“decently in the ground”)

The Grotesque What is the grotesque (or grotesquerie)? What makes Faulkner’s story grotesque (or Gothic)? Point out a couple instances in the story. What does Faulkner achieve by using it?

Decadence Is Faulkner depicting a decadent society, as some have claimed (that is, in reference to the decline of the post-Civil War situation in the deep south)? Is the use of the grotesque intended to indicate this decline and serve as a kind of criticism?

Fred Newmeyer

Safety Last (1923)

Harold Lloyd (1893-1971)

Film as New Medium What justifies including film in a literature course? What overlap is there between the objectives, methods, and meanings used in literature and film analysis? What special considerations must be made for film? You might also reflect on what distinguishes film from drama.

Themes Trace one of the themes I have given you in the film. Consider how the treatment of the theme possibly reflects attitudes, especially those related to power. Does the treatment seem to be reinforcing ideas or criticizing them?

Themes Gender relations, roles, and expectations Sympathetic and unsympathetic characters The American Dream Definitions of success and its relation to materialism Marriage

Themes The ideology of work and its norms; working conditions Northern sensibilities (cf. Faulkner) Depictions of ethnic and racial minorities (Jews and blacks); class structure [segments: 13.10-, 23.50-] The obsession with appearances and its relevant value system

Types of Humor What types of humor are present in the film? Do they fit in with any the of the theories of humor we have discussed in the past? Should this film be regarded as a form of criticism (satire)?

MLA Form Review I’ll take William Carlos Williams as my example. Topic: William Carlos Williams Narrowed topic: Modernism and the poetry of William Carlos Williams Search terms: poetry, William Carlos Williams, Modernism, criticism

Example of a Book Golston, Michael. Rhythm and Race in Modernist Poetry and Science. New York: Columbia UP, 2008. Print.

Example of a Journal (database) Monacell, Peter. “In the American Grid: Modern Poetry and the Suburbs.” Journal of Modern Literature 35.1 (2011): 122-42. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.

For Next Time Read: Wharton, “Roman Fever” Read: American Vision 592-597, 610-616, 626-630