100 Years of Solitude (Day Two / Chapters 6 - 10)

For today's blog, speak about two themes that you find in these chapters that you feel relate to the novel as a whole. Please use specific quotations or references from the text to support your ideas.

100 Years of Solitude (Day One / Chapters 1 - 5)

Please answer the following two questions in your posting:

1. Choose a character from these first five chapters and do a "study" of him or her. How does the novel present this character? Why? What do you think he or she represents within the novel? (Think about archetypes, myths, etc. - Garcia Marquez is drawing from a lot of myth and literature here in his creation of this novel). Refer to specific scenes within the novel to support your answer.

2. Choose a theme / symbol you find to be important within these initial chapters. How does this comment upon what we have read thus far? Why do you feel this to be the case? Refer to specific scenes / quotations in the novel to support your answer.

Grimm's Fairy Tales (Day Two)

Tuesday we did not have enough time to address the violence in these stories, so we'll begin there Thursday.

For Thursday's blog, I'd like each of you to come up with two themes that you see in two stories (meaning you'll discuss four stories in all). Use specific examples from the literature to support your ideas and be ready to discuss them in class.

Grimm's Fairy Tales (Day One)

Please choose two of the three questions for your discussion. Use quotes / specific examples from the stories to support your analyses (be sure to include the title of the stories you discuss).

1. Many of these stories have become part of our own cultural and national heritage (especially the Disney-fied "princess" culture so popular over the last decade). What do you think it is about these stories that have caused them to become "internationalized," and in many ways represent what it is to be a child (all children know at least one version of many of these stories)? What themes / messages are transmitted in and through them that have made certain of them universal?

2. What is the function of gender in these stories? What messages are transmitted through them concerning the roles of men and women? Why do you think this is the case? (When we think "fairy tale" what does this imply concerning gender roles? Do these stories support or subvert this accepted convention (or possibly both)?)

3. What is the role of violence in some of these stories? Why does violence play such an important role here? What type(s) of violence is/are present? Why do you think this is the case? Is there an implied message here or is it violence for the sake of violence (especially given that some of these tales seem to border on 'slasher film' territory)?

Schedule for "Grimm's Fairy Tales"

ALL READINGS UNDER 'COURSE DOCUMENTS' on BLACKBOARD READ FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 23 GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 1 1. The Frog Prince 2. The Twelve Brothers 3. Hansel and Grethel GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 2 4. Little Red Riding Hood 5. The Handless Maiden 6. The Robber Bridegroom GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 3 7. Briar Rose 8. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 9. Roland 10. The Juniper Tree READ FOR THURSDAY, MARCH 25 GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 1 1. The Tale of One Who Travelled to Learn What Shivering Meant 2. Rapunzel GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 2 3. Thumbling 4 The Travels of Thumbling GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 3 5. The Golden Goose 6. Bearskin GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES 4 7. The Jew among Thorns 8. The True Bride 9. The Robber and His Sons 10. The Master-Thief

Don Quixote (Day Six / Chapters 46 - 52)

Please choose two of the three options below:

1. Discuss the closing episodes of Part I of the novel that concern Don Quixote. Describe his character in the final chapters. Has he become "un-quixoticized"? Why or why not? Why do you think Cervantes presents us with this evolution in Don Quixote's character? Use quotes to support your analysis.

2. How might the sections read for today reflect on Part I of the novel as a whole? What recurrent themes do you find here that reinforce or possibly change your reading of the novel? Use quotes to support your analysis.

3. Choose a quote for commentary / analysis.

Don Quixote (Day Five / Chapters 36 - 45)

For this class I would like you to choose from the following two options:

1. Choose one quote from these chapters for commentary and analysis. In addition, I would like you to analyze the character of Lela Zoraida / Maria the woman presented in these chapters. How do you interpret her multiple identities (Arabic / Muslim / Christian / "Spanish")? What might her character have to say about identity in 17th century Spain and identity today? Does she have more / less agency than the other women present in this text? Why or why not? (In other words, why do you think the novel presents us with this character?)

2. Choose two quotes from these chapters for commentary and analysis.

Don Quixote (Day Four / Chapters 28 - 35)

I have been impressed with your responses to Don Quixote this far. For these chapters, I'd like you to pick two quotes that interest you and which you find comment on major themes within the novel (ones we have discussed or new themes you find here). Be sure to state from which chapter your quotes come and be prepared to discuss them in class.

Also, if you are going to present on Don Quixote, please be ready to do so next week (you can always do your presentation on Powerpoint and I would like you to present something new to the class that we have not yet discussed or expand upon what we have discussed -- this will most likely require you to do research in books and journals -- no Wikipedia please!).