EWRT1B-21: essay 2 discussion questions

Here are some questions to get you thinking about the intersections between Oedipus the King and Death of a Salesman. These are to help lead you to a possible thesis statement.

• What characteristics do Oedipus and Willy share? In what ways are they different?

• Are both Oedipus and Willy tragic heroes? Why or why not?

• Are the falls of Oedipus and Willy self created or do the other characters contribute in some way?

• What roles have Oedipus and Willy created for themselves? Are these roles different or do they share some similarities? How are these roles challenged by the events in the plays?

• What are the two plays saying about free will/choice and fate/outside influence?

• What do you think the intended effect on the audience is for these two plays?

• Do both plays have the classic elements of tragedy, such as reversal of fortune and recognition?

• What are these two plays saying about the nature of truth? About our ability to know truth?

• How does the staging of these two plays differ? What are some possible reasons for these differences?

• The plots of these plays differ in the specifics, but are the overall structures of the plots the same? How so?

• What world views do these two plays represent?

EWRT1B-21: Reading Response 5 and Arthur Miller

Reading Response 5: Who or what is responsible for the fall of Willy Loman? Use evidence from the play to back up your claim.

Here's the 1999 interview by Charlie Rose of Arthur Miller. This was for the 50th anniversary of Death of a Salesman. When Rose asks him to say what the play is about, Miller doesn't want to boil it all down to a sentence, but then he gives several answers which may help your understanding of what this piece of drama is about and trying to say. Though, as always, literature is not about neat little messages. It's about the experience of the art itself. Brian Dennehy comes in at 19:52 to talk about his take on Willy Loman.

EWRT1B-21: quoting

Here's a link to my handout about guidlines for quoting, including how to quote from drama:

quoting guidelines (pdf)

And here's the older handout about MLA citation if you lost it:

MLA citation- lit (pdf)

Here are some links to good pages about quoting:

Princeton Writing Center.

Nuts and Bolts of College Writing (covers MLA).

EWRT1B-21: essay 2, flow, and Oedipus

Here's a link to the handout from Monday: flow (pdf).

And here's a link to the prompt for the next essay: essay 2 (pdf).

And lastly, here's a link to a performance of Oedipus the King filmed in 1984.

Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9. Part 10. Part 11. Part 12.

And just for contrast, here's the Tiresias scene from Pasolini's 1967 version:

EWRT1B-21: reading response 3 prompts

Here are the prompts for reading response 3. Choose one or create your own focus. Remember, I'm looking for a short analytical paper. See the end of the syllabus for more about reading responses.

• In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” examine the changing descriptions of the wallpaper. What does it represent?

• Describe the husband, John, in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” How does his character influence the events in the story?

• What is the point of view in “A Rose For Emily”? How does it affect our understanding of the story?

EWRT1B-21: paper 1 prompt and James Baldwin

Here is a link to a .pdf of paper 1 (I handed this out Wednesday, April 9).

And here's an old interview with James Baldwin. I'm not sure exactly when it was done. I assume the late 50s or early 60s. There is an odd voice over in the beginning, but they start talking about 29 seconds in. He talks about growing up in Harlem and how it has changed since then. Then he gets into talking about the moral apathy in the U.S. Keep in mind that this interview was done in the midst if the Civil Rights movement.

EWRT1B-21: Sherman Alexie

Here's a funny little video of Sherman Alexie, who wrote "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in heaven." Here he's speaking as part of a Young Adult Novelists Panel in Texas.