Professor Poyner-Del Vento. Kindly turn off All cell phones The wireless component of any laptop...
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- Slide 1
- Professor Poyner-Del Vento
- Slide 2
- Kindly turn off All cell phones The wireless component of any
laptop computers
- Slide 3
- Overview of lecture Courage and masculinity Trauma and memory
Metafiction Brief exam review Announcements
- Slide 4
- Courage and masculinity
- Slide 5
- Too embarrassed to stand up for moral convictions I was ashamed
of my conscience, ashamed to be doing the right thing (OBrien 49).
I was a coward. I went to war (OBrien 58).
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- Courage as a form of embarrassment They carried all the
emotional baggage of men who might die.... Rather, they were too
frightened to be cowards. (OBrien 20-21)
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- Hard vocabulary of grunt lingo They used a hard vocabulary to
contain the terrible softness. Greased theyd say. Offed, lit up,
zapped while zipping. It wasnt cruelty, just stage presence. They
were actors. When someone died, it wasnt quite dying, because in a
curious way it seemed scripted, and because they had their lines
mostly memorized, irony mixed with tragedy, and because they called
it by other names, as if to encyst and destroy the reality of death
itself. They kicked corpses. They cut off thumbs. They talked grunt
lingo. (OBrien 19)
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- Gendered language Courage is masculine Stainless steel balls
(OBrien 64) Fear is feminine Pussies (OBrien 21) Pussy! (OBrien
57)
- Slide 9
- Masculinity as a construction Characters are doubtful of their
courage Therefore theyre doubtful of their masculine identity
Hyper-masculine behavior Violence Bravado / macho attitude
Sexualized language
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- Trauma and memory
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- Repeated traumatic scenes Death of Curt Lemon Mainly in How to
Tell a True War Story Briefly mentioned in other stories Death of
man killed by narrator Mainly in The Man I Killed, Ambush, and Good
Form Briefly mentioned in other stories Death of Kiowa Mainly in
Speaking of Courage, Notes, In the Field, and Field Trip Briefly
mentioned in other stories
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- Death of man killed by narrator Repeats physical details of
corpse Star-shaped hole for eye Delicate fingers Rubber sandals
blown off Invents details about mans life Scholar Reluctant to
fight
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- Death of Kiowa Takes place in a shitfield Shitfield as symbol
Of Vietnam War Of memory
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- Death of Kiowa Kiowas death is blamed on different people:
Norman Bowker in Speaking of Courage First person narrator in Notes
Unnamed soldier In the Field
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- Metafiction
- Slide 16
- This book is fiction, right? Title page: The Things They
Carried, a work of fiction by Tim OBrien ENGL 101: Introduction to
Fiction
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- Parts of this book are real, right? Narrator is named Tim
OBrien, like the author Narrator shares biographical details with
the author Narrator is a writer Narrator was drafted into war
between university and graduate school Narrator wrote If I Die in a
Combat Zone and Going after Cacciato Book is dedicated to
characters named in its stories
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- Narrator will deliberately draw our attention to books
authenticity How to Tell a True War Story This is true (OBrien 66)
Good Form Page 71
- Slide 19
- Definition from Merriam-Webster metafiction: fiction which
refers to or takes as its subject fictional writing and its
conventions Quoted from Merriam-Webster Online:
www.m-w.comwww.m-w.com
- Slide 20
- Metafiction In many cases... beyond telling. (OBrien 68)
- Slide 21
- Metafiction What are the implications of the same story
repeated in different versions? What are the implications of truth
and fiction being so intertwined? What are the implications of
storytelling being a main theme of this book?
- Slide 22
- Brief Exam Review
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- Exam is open book and open notes Must bring: Pen or pencil SFU
student ID Should bring: Marked copy of The Things They Carried
Notes from lecture Close Reading sheet Specially prepared notes for
exam Scrap paper
- Slide 24
- Exam is open book and open notes Might bring: Dictionary
Another book for reference (be sure to cite!) CANNOT bring:
Anything electronic (e.g., laptop, electronic translator, cell
phone) Anything potentially noisy or distracting Anything to share
with classmates
- Slide 25
- Exam Format 1 hour long 2 questions, each worth 50%
- Slide 26
- Passage analysis You will be given a choice of three passages
from The Things They Carried. Choose two. For each passage you
choose, write one or two paragraphs that analyze the internal
complexities and ambiguities of the material, offering your own
interpretations. Your analyses will probably discuss the passages
significance to the entire book. Your answer should focus on an
analysis of the passage, not merely a description of the passage or
a list of observations about it.
- Slide 27
- To prepare for exam Practice Close Reading Choose passages
relevant to themes in lecture Bring examples of Close Reading to
office hours
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- Room for Exam Exam is scheduled on Saturday, August 13 th, 4:30
to 5:30 p.m. All students will be in SUR 2600
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- Announcements
- Slide 30
- Please remember to submit Final Draft via WebCT Due date is
Monday, August 8 th during LECTURE Also turn in via WebCT
- Slide 31
- Lecture evaluations will be conducted today You will evaluate
the lecture and tutorial components separately Evaluations are
anonymous and will be NOT be opened until AFTER all grades are
submitted Please provide as much detail as possibleit helps us
improve
- Slide 32
- Please comment on My skills as a lecturer The assignment
structure Four small exams instead of one cumulative exam One large
essay assignment broken into steps
- Slide 33
- Good luck on Exam #4! Good luck on your exams in other
classes!