English 2235 Schedule - Spring 2007

Anoka-Ramsey Community College -- Coon Rapids Campus
English 2235: American Literature Since 1865
Spring 2007 / Section 1

Tentative Schedule #3

American Literature 1945-Present (Volume E)

M 4/30 -- David Mamet: Introduction (2508-2509); Glengarry Glen Ross, Act One (2509-2523)

Act One is comprised of three scenes, and each scene features a conversation between two characters. How are the scenes similar to and different from each other?
How does the dialogue in each scene reveal each character? (Make a list of characteristics for each character.)
How does each scene illustrate the "Practical Sales Maxim: Always Be Closing"?

W 5/2 -- David Mamet: Glengarry Glen Ross, Act Two (2523-2542)

Act Two is one long scene but are there actually several shorter scenes "embedded" within the long one? If so, what are these shorter scenes?
Who is responsible for stealing the contracts? When and where do you find this out?
Based on how this play ends, what "theme" or "message" do you think Mamet is going for?

F 5/4 -- Kurt Vonnegut: Introduction (2181-2183); Fates Worse Than Death (2183-2190)

What do you find funny, ironic, and irreverent about this selection?
How does the selection change or progress from beginning to end? In other words, how does Vonnegut "work through" or "think through" this topic?
This selection was published in 1982: does it still apply today?

M 5/7 -- DUE: ESSAY #2 -- and -- Ursula K. Le Guin: Introduction (2225-2226); Schrodinger's Cat (2226-2232); She Unnames Them (2232-2233)

In what ways is the first selection about "uncertainty"?
In what ways is the second selection about "power"?
How is each selection about story telling, about language and the use of language?

W 5/9 -- Toni Morrison: Introduction (2252-2253); Recitatif (2253-2266)

The two main characters are Twyla and Roberta: which one is white, and which one is black? How do you know?
Who is Maggie, and why do Twyla and Roberta continue to talk about her throughout the story?
What is the "theme" or "message" of this story?

F 5/11 -- Louise Erdrich: Introduction (2561-2562); Fleur (2562-2571)

Characterize the narrator of this story: who is she? what kind of person is she? how do you feel about her?
What actually happens in this story? What seems realistic, and what seems "supernatural"?
Where does Fleur's "power" come from?

W 5/16 -- EXAM #3 / Final Exam Period / 11:50 a.m. - 1:50 p.m. / H 121