James Joyce (1882-1941)

James Joyce (1882-1941)

 

(born Feb. 2, 1882, Dublin, Ire.died Jan. 13, 1941, Zrich, Switz.) Irish novelist. Educated at a Jesuit school (though he soon rejected Catholicism) and at University College, Dublin, he decided early to become a writer. In 1902 he moved to Paris, which would become his principal home after years spent in Trieste and Zrich. His life was difficult, marked by financial troubles, chronic eye diseases that occasionally left him totally blind, censorship problems, and his daughter Lucia's mental illness. The remarkable story collection The Dubliners (1914) and the autobiographical novel Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), his early prose volumes, were powerful examples of his gift for storytelling and his great intelligence. With financial help from friends and supporters, including Ezra Pound, Sylvia Beach (18871962), and Harriet Shaw Weaver (18761961), he spent seven years writing Ulysses (1922), the controversial masterpiece (initially banned in the U.S. and Britain) now widely regarded by many as the greatest English-language novel of the 20th century. It embodies a highly experimental use of language and exploration of such new literary methods as interior monologue and stream-of-consciousness narrative. He spent 17 years on his final work, the extraordinary Finnegans Wake (1939), famous for its complex and demanding linguistic virtuosity.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/james-joyce#ixzz1qHus3SrD 

About J.Joyce and His Works

Before you read "Araby" by all means read this: How to read Joyce. Advice

Listen to "Araby":

An award winning film adaptation of James Joyce's short story "Araby." Trailer

Map of the boy's route

 

Useful links

Araby Analysis
Araby
Epiphany
Essays 

Araby Criticism

Literary analysis: Araby, by James Joyce

"Araby" Study Questions Before Reading -- Title:  the title of this story is a proper noun: it refers to a real festival which came to Dublin in 1894, when Joyce was twelve years old. -- Style:  "Araby" has a long and descriptive introduction before this boy takes action. Be patient in your reading; you are about to enter the emotional world of a sensitive young boy. After the 1st Reading:  1. The setting & the language The story reads slowly because1) not much happens in the first six paragraphs(the first action being Mangan's sister's talking to the boy: "At last she spoke to me"), and the real action does not take place until paragraph [25]: "I held a florin tightly in my hand..." 2) the boy narrator feels a lot more than what he expresses outwards in his speech to others or action.  Find some descriptive passages, try to find out how images and the other figurative speech are used, and what their connotations are. It would be the best if you can find the passages by yourselves, if not, the following are some examples: Read the first two paragraphs carefully and see what kind of environment the boy is in. (What can the following details mean? The house which is"blind," or in a dead end of the street, the other houses "with brown imperturbable faces"; the musty room, the dead priest with his three books; the rusty bicycle pump; the apple tree and the garbage odors. These images seem to be unrelated to the plot, but they define the boy's environment as well as the story's atmosphere.) 2. The characters children vs. authorities:-- In the third paragraph, the boy describes the wild games they play after school and out on the street. Do you have any similar experience of playing in a group of kids, maybe with some "rough tribes" as your "enemies"? (A city child nowadays does not have the freedom to run around after school freely and beyond bounds, because it is considered unsafe (or unworthwhile) to do so. How about your childhood?) -- Who are the authority figures in the story? The dead priest? The uncle and aunt? Or Mangan's sister? Do they serve any roles in offering guidance to the boy? the boy's infatuation with Mangan's sister:-- In paragraphs 3-6, we get to see that the boy secretly loves an older girl who is Mangan's sister.  How does he describe his feelings for her? How is the attention he pays to the girl different from that of Sammy in "A & P"? -- Why does the image and name of Mangan's sister appear in the boy's mind and his fervent prayer in the noisiest moments? Why does the boy feel as if he went on a crusade (quest) for the girl? Have you ever had such a passionate sentiment for any event or person? "These noises converged in a single sensation of life for me: I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes. Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand. My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom. I thought little of the future. I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration. But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires." (par 6) [In the priest's room]"I was thankful that I could see so little. All my senses seemed to desire to veil themselves and, feeling that I was about to slip from them, I pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: "O love! O love!" many times." (par 7) Mangan's sister:  -- Most of Mangan's sister's words are presented in the boy's narration (but not in direct quotations). How much do we really know about her? What kind of "character" do you think Mangan's sister is? A round character? A flat character? A substitute for something else? A character serving as a symbol? Pay close attention to how Mangan's sister is presented in the 3d and the 10th paragraphs. What major color and images are associated with her? Which parts of her body are described?-- Why do you think she suggests that the boy go to Araby? Does she really care if he makes it or not? h e does it or not? 3. The plot & external elements The boy's changes: As explained above, Mangan's sister initate the boy's desire for action (going to Araby) in paragraph 7, but the action itself takes place only in paragraph 25. In between, the boy is emotionally concentrated on the quest while he finds daily routine to be "child's play," and his childhood companions distant from him. a. -- From the third paragraph, we see the narrator, a child, plays with his friends, but this is the last time he talks about this group of kids as "we." How would you characterize his subsequent changes? Does he grow older and wiser? b. -- What stops him from going till very late on Saturday evening?-- What kind of conflict/contrast does the boy experience in the story between himself and his environment, or between him and the adults (aunt, uncleand Mrs Mercer) ? c. -- When he finally get to Araby, why does the boy remember "with difficult" he goes there? Why does he not buy anything at the fair? d. -- What does the ending mean? "Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger."

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Further Questions or After the 2nd Reading: 4. Language: Religious images vs. images of money What kind of sentiment does the boy have in his love for the girl?  Look at paragraphs 4-6 (e.g. the similes/metaphors used: "I bore my chalice"; "my body was like a harp" and his fervent prayer) and paragraph 13.    4. The trip to Araby (the bazaar) How is the bazaar presented at the end of the story (e.g. the dialogue between the woman and men, the image of darkness)?  What does this description, again, tell us about the boy's world? Examine the role money plays in the trip to the bazaar (paragraph 25 and 32). 5. Theme Why do you think the boy loves the girl so much, or, to put it in another way, in such a devout way?  What do you make of the ending?  How do you explain the word "vanity"? Does the boy know where his vanity come from? The story is an initiation story, meaning that the boy experienced growth, or a rite of passage, from one stage of his life (e.g. childhood) to another (young adulthood).   What do you think the boy has learned?  How is his growth similar to, or different from, that of Sammy's? To be more specific, is the ending of this story similar to that of "A & P"? (When Sammy looks at Lengel, "His face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if he'd just had an injection of iron, and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter." 6. Point of View Describe the narrator or point of view in this story.  Is this narrator, like Sammy in "A & P," a young teenage boy or is he an older man remembering an important incident when he was younger?

Extension: What do you think about the boy's love for Mangan's sister? Have you experienced puppy love or momentary infatuation before?  How is your experience different from or similar to the boy's?  How would the story be told differently if the narrative perspective were that of Mangan's sister? Joyce mentioned in several letters that he chose Dublin as the setting for Dubliners because for him the city seemed to be the center of paralysis. Without getting into the historical background of Dublin in and around World War I, we can discuss the where the sense of paralysis comes from in the story, and also how/why we feel it or not feel it in our hometown. If we do, with what sensory image and/or events do we concretize it? Related Links Joyce's biography E-Text: "Araby" E-Text: James Joyce: Dubliners For Further Studies A collection of short essays on "Araby" Joyce's Dublin Steve Bender's James Joyce --includes: Joyce Texts On-Line, Joyce Biography, Joyce's Dublin, General Critical Resources, Critical Resources for Specific Joyce Texts, Ulysses Resources, Joycean Art (and Sound) Galleries, More Joyce Links

For Your Written Assighment

Robert Frost 

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Listen:

When asked to reveal the hidden meaning of his poems, Robert Frost's response was "If I wanted you to know I'd had told you in the poem." Born in San Francisco in 1874, Frost spent his early childhood in California, then moved to Massachusetts at the age of 11, following the death of his father. He spent much of the rest of his life in New England. Frost taught at a number of New England institutions to support himself and his family; but his true passion was writing. He once said that he wanted to write, "a few poems it will be hard to get rid of." Frost wrote one of his most famous poems, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," at his home in Shaftsbury, Vermont in 1922. It was published the following year in a volume of poems called New Hampshire, which earned Frost one of the four Pulitzer Prizes he would receive in his lifetime. This clip came from a 1958 film shot at Frost's farmhouse in Vermont. In addition to reading two poems in the film, Frost also recalls personal experiences—as a mill worker, cobbler, and farmer—that helped inspire his poetry.

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" from THE POETRY OF ROBERT FROST edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright © 1923 1969 by Henry Holt and Company. Copyright © 1951 by Robert Frost. Used by arrangement with Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

Interactive Learning

How to analyse Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

An analysis of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" begins with reading the poem. It's short. Read it several times. Step by step instructions:

a.     Annotate the poem using the following steps:

                                                             i.      identify the rhyme scheme

                                                           ii.      identify the meter and any examples of straying from the meter

                                                        iii.      if the poem is difficult, summarize each stanza

                                                        iv.      circle important words, ambiguous words, and words you need to look up

                                                           v.      circle examples of figurative language

                                                        vi.      write questions

                                                      vii.      write down insights.
              b.     Draw conclusions based on the information you gathered while annotating.

c.      Write the analysis. The following steps are for how to write a paragraph analysis:
                             i.      The topic sentence should state the poem's theme (one that may not be so obvious).

                                                           ii.      The examples, facts, citations from the poem you're analyzing should support your topic sentence.

                                                        iii.      Provide analysis explaining how your facts support your topic sentence.
ASSIGNMENT I

1 . Study the verse thoroughly. Read it aloud in a slow sing-song manner to determine its metre and kind of foot.

2. Choose the appropriate:

a) metre (monometer, dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter, heptameter, octometer);

b) foot (of 5 kinds of feet in English: iambus, trochee, anapaest, dactyl, amphibrach).

3. Describe the metres employed in the verse

4. Determine which is more essential here in Frost's verse, - metre or rhyme.

a) choose the appropriate rhyme from perfect, nonperfect, single (or male) rhyme.

b) say if the rhyme is used by R.Frost to emphasize the shape of the verse.

5. Give characteristics of the types of lines and stanzas in the verse.

a) lines, rhyming in pairs, and lines of nonperfect rhyme;

b) lines of monometrical foot or tetrametrical foot;

c) the stanzas are of two or four lines.

6. Sum up all the above mentioned features of the verse and say if it is metrical with a regular rhyme-scheme or partly metrical, with an irregular rhyme-scheme.

7. Study the vocabulary of the verse and say:

a . Who do the following refer to?

"I think I know", "his words", "think it queer", "He gives", "To ask if .", ". the sweep of easy wind", " . lovely, dark and deep", " . before I sleep".

b. Which verb goes with the phrases:

"to watch his wood", "his harness bells a shake", "... if there was some mistake", ".   promises to keep", "And miles to go".

c. Say which of the words are the most appropriate to describe: woods, sounds, the horse, the time, the poet.

8. Study the syntax of the verse and comment on usage of the purpose clauses. (Pick them out from lines 4, 6, 1 0). Give examples of anaphoric sentences.

ASSIGNMENT II

1. Comment on the title of the verse.                                                                           

2.  State the main idea of the verse.

II. Comment on the poetic features of the text.

a)  rhythmical;

b) lexical;

c) stylistic.

III. Speak about the vocabulary of the verse, its morphological, semantic and poetic features.

IV. State the grammar forms in the verse and comment on their stylistic value.

V. Pick out and give examples of a peculiar kind of a rhythmical poetry based on reiteration of words and phrases. Say why they bring forth unexpected semantic effects. Don't forget about intensifiers "but", "and".

VI. Comment on detached epithets describing woods (lines 4, 13) farmhouse, line 6), promises (line 14) and miles (lines 15, 16). State their stylistic value.

VII. Speak about object-images in the verse:

1 . Give examples of metaphors, similes, repetitions in which the following associations are made: flakes, the wind, the horse, the only other sound, he and his, I sleep.

2. Say what connotations the words "sweep", "queer". "stop", "sleep" have for you.

3. Give examples of personification and exaggeration (hyperbole).

VIII. Comment on the devices which help to produce the musical effect and sometimes onomatopoetic-imitating sounds of nature:

a) alliteration in sounds and phrases;

b) punctuation in pair-rhymed lines, run-on lines, end-stopped lines.

IX. Characterize the key of the verse as lyrical, dramatic, epic or grotesque. Comment on your choice.

X. Determine the tonal message of the verse as genial, sad, lyrical or ironic. Say why.

XI. Summarizing your analysis don't forget to add:

what you think the poet's purpose is describing this scene; what the author is trying to help us imagine; what you think about the poet's message; if it is cognitive, informative or puzzling;

how you understand the poet's symbolic representation and what it adds to the verse;

what feelings this poem communicates to you. Are they named or expressed indirectly;

what physical details are selected to suggest precise secondary meaning;

which of the five senses (touch, taste, smell, hearing, sight) are exercised by the readers;

that the poem was highly appreciated for its remarkable optimistic power and was awarded the Pulitzer prize.

 Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening 

Questions

1. Why do you think Frost uses the word "woods" instead of "forest"? How are these two words different from one another?
2. Why does our speaker worry so much about who owns the woods?
3. Many people have criticized Frost for being too concerned with the past or with things that have nothing to do with the modern world (like  radios and TV). Do you agree with this criticism? Can you relate to this poem?
4. Why do you think Frost titled this poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening?"
5. Does it bother you that Frost rhymes "sleep" with "sleep"?

You can find a lot of useful information about how to read poetry in my earlier posts. Here's some links to R.Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods". Remember you 've promised to do outside reading after you 're through with your own analysis!

Criticism

Analysis

People Say

HERE'S SOME USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT READING POETRY.
DON'T SKIP IT!  TAKE THE TROUBLE TO STUDY IT BEFORE YOU READ "THE RAVEN"

How to Read a Poem

There’s really only one reason that poetry has gotten a reputation for being so darned “difficult”: it demands your full attention and won’t settle for less. Unlike a novel, where you can drift in and out and still follow the plot, poems are generally shorter and more intense, with less of a conventional story to follow. If you don’t make room for the experience, you probably won’t have one. 

But the rewards can be high. To make an analogy with rock and roll, it’s the difference between a two and a half minute pop song with a hook that you get sick of after the third listen, and a slow-building tour de force that sounds fresh and different every time you hear it. Once you’ve gotten a taste of the really rich stuff, you just want to listen to it over and over again and figure out: how’d they do that? 

Aside from its demands on your attention, there’s nothing too tricky about reading a poem. Like anything, it’s a matter of practice. But in case you haven’t read much (or any) poetry before, we’ve put together a short list of tips that will make it a whole lot more enjoyable.

• Follow Your Ears. It’s okay to ask, “What does it mean?” when reading a poem. But it’s even better to ask, “How does it sound?” If all else fails, treat it like a song. Even if you can’t understand a single thing about a poem’s “subject” or “theme,” you can always say something – anything – about the sound of the words. Does the poem move fast or slow? Does it sound awkward in sections or does it have an even flow? Do certain words stick out more than others? Trust your inner ear: if the poem sounds strange, it doesn’t mean you’re reading it wrong. In fact, you probably just discovered one of the poem’s secret tricks!
• Read It Aloud. OK, we’re not saying you have to shout it from the rooftops. If you’re embarrassed and want to lock yourself in the attic and read the poem in the faintest whisper possible, go ahead. Do whatever it takes, because reading even part of poem aloud can totally change your perspective on how it works.
• Become an Archaeologist. When you’ve drunk in the poem enough times, experiencing the sound and images found there, it is sometimes fun to switch gears and to become an archaeologist (you know -- someone who digs up the past and uncovers layers of history). Treat the poem like a room you have just entered. Perhaps it’s a strange room that you’ve never seen before, filled with objects or people that you don’t really recognize. Maybe you feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland. Assume your role as an archaeologist and take some measurements. What’s the weather like? Are there people there? What kind of objects do you find? Are there more verbs than adjectives? Do you detect a rhythm? Can you hear music? Is there furniture? Are there portraits of past poets on the walls? Are there traces of other poems or historical references to be found?
• Don’t Skim. Unlike the newspaper or a textbook, the point of poetry isn’t to cram information into your brain. We can’t repeat it enough: poetry is an experience. If you don’t have the patience to get through a long poem, no worries, just start with a really short poem. Understanding poetry is like getting a suntan: you have to let it sink in.
• Memorize! “Memorize” is such a scary word, isn’t it? It reminds us of multiplication tables. Maybe we should have said: “Tuck the poem into your snuggly memory-space.” Or maybe not. At any rate, don’t tax yourself: if you memorize one or two lines of a poem, or even just a single cool-sounding phrase, it will start to work on you in ways you didn’t know possible. You’ll be walking through the mall one day, and all of a sudden, you’ll shout, “I get it!” Just not too loud, or you’ll get mall security on your case.
• Be Patient. You can’t really understand a poem that you’ve only read once. You just can’t. So if you don’t get it, set the poem aside and come back to it later. And by “later” we mean days, months, or even years. Don’t rush it. It’s a much bigger accomplishment to actually enjoy a poem than it is to be able to explain every line of it. Treat the first reading as an investment – your effort might not pay off until well into the future, but when it does, it will totally be worth it. Trust us.
• Read in Crazy Places. Just like music, the experience of poetry changes depending on your mood and the environment. Read in as many different places as possible: at the beach, on a mountain, in the subway. Sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery for a poem to really come alive.
• Think Like a Poet. Here’s a fun exercise. Go through the poem one line at a time, covering up the next line with your hand so you can’t see it. Put yourself in the poet’s shoes: If I had to write a line to come after this line, what would I put? If you start to think like this, you’ll be able to appreciate all the different choices that go into making a poem. It can also be pretty humbling – at least we think so.
• “Look Who’s Talking.” Ask the most basic questions possible of the poem. Two of the most important are: “Who’s talking?” and “Who are they talking to?” If it’s a Shakespeare sonnet, don’t just assume that the speaker is Shakespeare. The speaker of every poem is kind of fictional creation, and so is the audience. Ask yourself: what would it be like to meet this person? What would they look like? What’s their “deal,” anyway?
• And, most importantly, Never Be Intimidated. Regardless of what your experience with poetry in the classroom has been, no poet wants to make his or her audience feel stupid. It’s just not good business, if you know what we mean. Sure, there might be tricky parts, but it’s not like you’re trying to unlock the secrets of the universe. Heck, if you want to ignore the “meaning” entirely, then go ahead. Why not?

Poetry is about freedom and exposing yourself to new things. In fact, if you find yourself stuck in a poem, just remember that the poet, 9 times out of 10, was a bit of a rebel and was trying to make his friends look at life in a completely different way. Find your inner rebel too. There isn’t a single poem out there that’s “too difficult” to try out – right now, today. So hop to it. As you’ll discover here at Shmoop, there’s plenty to choose from.


Sources:

http://allpoetry.com/column/2339540
http://academic.reed.edu/writing/paper_help/figurative_language.html
http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/LiteraryTermsTOC.html#RhetLang
http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/allegory.html

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

Ernest Hemingway, famous author and journalist, was born in the affluent Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, on July 21, 1899. His father was a doctor; his mother, a musician. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Ernest Hall. As a young man, he was interested in writing; he wrote for and edited his high school’s newspaper, as well as the high school yearbook. Upon graduating from Oak Park and River Forest High School in 1917, he worked for the Kansas City Star newspaper briefly, but in that short time, he learned the writing style that would shape nearly all of his future work.

As an ambulance driver in Italy during World War I, Ernest Hemingway was wounded and spent several months in the hospital. While there, he met and fell in love with a Red Cross nurse named Agnes von Kurowsky. They planned to marry; however, she became engaged to an Italian officer instead. This experience devastated Hemingway, and Agnes became the basis for the female characters in his subsequent short stories “A Very Short Story” (1925) and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” (1936), as well as the famous novel “A Farewell To Arms” (1929). This would also start a pattern Ernest would repeat for the rest of his life – leaving women before they had the chance to leave him first.

Ernest Hemingway began work as a journalist upon moving to Paris in the early 1920s, but he still found time to write. He was at his most prolific in the 20s and 30s. His first short story collection, aptly titled “Three Stories and Ten Poems,” was published in 1923. His next short story collection, “In Our Time,” published in 1925, was the formal introduction of the vaunted Hemingway style to the rest of the world, and considered one of the most important works of 20th century prose. He would then go on to write some of the most famous works of the 20th century, including “A Farewell to Arms,” “The Sun Also Rises,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and “The Old Man and the Sea.” He also won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.

Ernest Hemingway lived most of his later years in Idaho. He began to suffer from paranoia, believing the FBI was aggressively monitoring him. In November of 1960 he began frequent trips to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for electroconvulsive therapy – colloquially known as “shock treatments.” He had his final treatment on June 30, 1961. Two days later, on July 2, 1961, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth with a twelve-gauge shotgun. He was a few weeks short of his 62nd birthday. This wound up being a recurring trend in his family; his father, as well as his brother and sister, also died by committing suicide. The legend of Hemingway looms large, and his writing style is so unique that it left a legacy in literature that will endure forever.

Here's a list of the major works of Ernest Hemingway.

Novels/Novella

• The Torrents of Spring (1925)
• The Sun Also Rises (1926)
• A Farewell to Arms (1929)
• To Have and Have Not(1937)
• For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)
• Across the River and Into the Trees (1950)
• The Old Man and the Sea (1952)
• Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
• Islands in the Stream (1970)
• The Garden of Eden (1986)

Nonfiction

• Death in the Afternoon (1932)
• Green Hills of Africa (1935)
• The Dangerous Summer (1960)
• A Moveable Feast (1964)

Short Story Collections

• Three Stories and Ten Poems (1923)
• In Our Time (1925)
• Men Without Women (1927)
• The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1932)
• Winner Take Nothing (1933)
• The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories (1938)
• The Essential Hemingway (1947)
• The Hemingway Reader (1953)
• The Nick Adams Stories (1972)

Read more about E.Hemingway life

Hemingway's life and works

Listen to Hemingway's Nobel Prize Acceptance speech

Speech

Here are links to get ready for our discussion 

Cat in the Rain

Link 1

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Link 3

Link 4

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1.      Read the opening paragraph of the story closely and discuss how it helps to set the tone of the story and how it provides the readers with the theme(s) of the story. For example: Why are there only two Americans stopping at the hotel? What do “the public garden” and “the war monument stand” for in the story? What is the importance of the emphasis on the weather in the opening paragraph? What is the symbolic value of the artists? What is the reason for the narrator’s emphasis on the emptiness of the square?

2.      What is the significance of the rain in the story?

3.      Identify what the female protagonist is called in the whole story and discuss in what ways this could be significant.

4.      Why does the narrator describe the cat as “crouched under one of the dripping green tables”?

5.      Make a comparison between George and the hotel keeper. What is the function of each of these characters in the story?

6.      What could be the metaphorical value of the maid’s question to the wife: “Ha perduto qualque cosa, Signoria?” (“Have you lost something, Madam?”)

7.      Why does the hotel keeper make the American wife “feel very small and at the same time really important”?

8.  Discuss the references to the wife’s hair: Why does George like his wife’s hair “the way it is”? Why does the wife want to “make a big knot at the back”?

9.  There are two cats in the story. What does each of them symbolize? Why does the wife want a kitty to sit on her lap and purr?

10.  Extension Activity:
Hemingway’s “Iceberg Theory”: Hemingway views his writing style as “fashioned on the “principle of the iceberg,” for “seven eights of it [is] under water for every part that shows” (cited in Thomas Strychacz, 1999,  in The Cambridge Companion to Hemingway, Scott Donaldson (Ed.), p. 59). In other words, as Hemingway said, “You could omit anything if you knew that you omitted and the omitted part would strengthen the story and make people feel something more than they understood” (cited in Elizabeth Dewberry, 1999, in The Cambridge Companion to Hemingway, Scott Donaldson, Ed., p. 23)
Discuss Hemingway’s metaphor of “iceberg” in relation to his short story “Cat in the Rain”.

The Killers

Link 1

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QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. Author and critic Robert Penn Warren raised this question: "To whom does ‘The Killers’ belong?" and concluded that the answer was "Nick Adams." Is he right? Who and what is this story really about?
2. Which character does the reader most identify with?
3. Identify how Sam, George and Nick react when when they find out the killers are after Ole Andreson. Then discuss what these reactions reveal about these three characters.
4. Do we believe Nick’s claim at the end of the story that he’s going to get out of town? Does this seem like an extreme reaction on his part? Does George’s final comment that he’d "better not think about it" seem likely to change Nick’s resolve to leave?
5. Why do you think Ole Anderson refuses to take action?
6. We don’t ever see Ole’s death. What effect does this have on the story? Do we hold out hope that he might live, or take it for granted that the killers will find and whack him, as they say?
7. Comment on the physical description of the two killers: why are they depicted as identical and clownish?
8. Did you notice all the repetition of the same phrases and words in the story’s dialogue? ("I don’t know," "All right," "bright boy," etc.) What purpose does this serve thematically? Structurally? Does it affect the style or tone of the story? How?
9. What message(s) does the story convey as far as the nature of the world is concerned?

About Text Analysis


Writing a textual analysis is not writing how you feel about a text’s topic, and it’s not writing whether you agree with the argument presented in the text. In fact, you can write a textual analysis about a text that deals with a topic you know little about or disagree with entirely.
When you write a textual analysis, you are writing to tell readers whether or not a text’s author effectively presents an argument. You will decide how effectively an author presents his or her argument by examining the techniques the author uses, explaining which ones work (or not) and why. To do this, you must first think about how these techniques affect the author’s intended audience and how they help to achieve the author’s intended purpose. Your analysis will be an explanation of how the author reaches that audience and achieves that purpose (or not).
In short, analysis involves thinking critically about how a text works (or doesn’t) and why, and then communicating that clearly.

Key Features

Based on Richard Bullock, The Norton Field Guide (NY: Norton, 2006), p.50

Summary of the text: Depending on how well known the text you are analyzing is, you will most likely need to provide a brief summary of it. Attention to Context: Texts often exist as part of an ongoing conversation or as a response to particular events. Keep this in mind when analyzing a text; think about how those conversations or events influenced the author’s decisions about the text or how they influence the way the intended audience will feel about its message. Clear Interpretation or Judgment: This can be achieved through a clear thesis statement placed near the beginning of your paper that includes your interpretation of what you think the text means or what its intended purpose was, how well this message is communicated, and how the author does (or doesn’t) communicate it. Support for Your Conclusions: Because there is rarely just one way to interpret a text, examples of techniques and patterns from the text are good ways to support your claims.

Useful Questions to Ask Yourself

• Is everything in this text clear to me (including words, expressions, references)?
• What is the author’s purpose/audience for this text? How do I know that?
• What techniques does the author use to get his/her point across? For example, does the author quote or refer to credible sources, appeal to the audience’s emotions, organize the argument in a particular way?
• Do I have a clearly stated thesis? Do I provide sufficient evidence for my claims?
• What do I know or how do I feel about this topic/author? How will that influence my analysis?