Working on Developing Responses to the Readings -- Spring 2004

Working on Developing Responses to the Readings

General Questions:

Luc Sante, “What Secrets Tell” – pp. 508-514

Do you ever use the internet for researching “secrets” about someone or something? Do you ever watch TV shows like Entertainment Tonight or Jerry Springer, or do you ever read tabloid magazines or newspapers, to find out about “secrets”? Do you agree with Sante that the internet and other media in our culture “devalues” the secret, since we find out about so many?
Do you personally ever feel any urge to confess your hidden transgressions to an audience of strangers?
Do you agree with Sante that we “need” secrets, that there is a deep human need for them? If so, why? If not, why not?
Do you see other types of secrets beyond what Sante listed, or do you have your own categories of secrets?
What secrets do you know right now, about other people, events, or things?

Stephen L. Carter, “The Insufficiency of Honesty” – pp. 321-326

How do you define “integrity”? Do you feel that you personally have integrity?
If “honesty” means “not lying,” do you feel that you are an honest person? Are you honest in some situations but not in others?
Have you ever been honest without having integrity? For example, have you ever been honest and hurt someone else in the process? (If so, when, where, with whom, and why?)
Have you ever been honest at great “personal cost” to yourself? (If so, when, where, with whom, and why?)
Have you ever been honest about what you believe, but you found out later that what you believed was wrong? (If so, when, where, with whom, and why?)
Have you ever been honest with someone to avoid responsibility? (If so, when, where, with whom, and why?)
Do you agree that we should have “character education” for young people, possibly even in our public schools?

Kathleen Norris, “The Holy Use of Gossip” – pp. 460-465

Do you see any connection between Luc Sante’s “secrets” and Kathleen Norris’ “gossip” in today’s society and culture, particularly in our popular media?
Have you ever lived in, or visited at length, a small town? If so, did you notice the close-knit relationships among people? Did you overhear and/or engage in any gossip while you were there? Did gossip strengthen communal bonds, provide comic relief, give identity, take away privacy?
Have you ever read a book about, or seen a movie about, life in a small town? If so, were the relationships among the people close-knit? Did the characters engage in any gossip? Did gossip strengthen communal bonds, provide comic relief, give identity, take away privacy?
Do you gossip with your friends? Why or why not? Does gossiping with your friends strengthen your bonds, provide comic relief, give identity, take away privacy?
Have you ever been negatively affected by the gossip of others? (If so, how, when, where, with whom, and why?)
Do you agree with Norris that gossip has “religious” qualities?

Harold Bloom, “In Praise of the Greats” – pp. 613-621

How do you read, and Why do you read? (For example, do you read for pleasure, to return to "otherness," to alleviate loneliness?)
Do you have your own "sampling of works what best illustrate why to read"? (Perhaps make up your list based on what your demon whispers, "I love.") If so, how is your list similar to and different from Bloom's list?
Do you agree with Johnson, Bacon, and Emerson on how to read: " . . . find what truly comes near to you, that can be used for weighing and for considering. Read deeply, not to believe, not to accept, not to contradict, but to learn to share in that one nature that writes and reads"? (par. 19, but also par. 6)
Do you agree with Bloom on the importance of Shakespeare? Have you ever read any Shakespeare before? If so, what? How did you feel then (and how do you feel now) about what you read by Shakespeare?
Do you agree with Bloom that we read "in order to strengthen the self, and to learn authentic interests" and that "the pleasures of reading indeed are selfish rather than social"?
How do you understand Bloom's use of the word "irony"? Do you agree that "the loss of irony is the death of reading"?

Last Updated on 09 July 2009 by SRS