A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Getting Started

Some notes on today's lecture/talk:

1. Due dates for reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

Read chapter 1 (page 59 in the green & white editions, page 51 in the brown) by Monday, November first (All Saint's Day which would have been a day of Holy Obligation for Stephen).

Read chapter 2 (page 101 in the green & white editions, page 89 in the brown) by Wednesday, November third.

Read chapter 3 (page 127 in the brown) by Friday, November fifth.

Read chapter 4 (page 151 in the brown) by Monday, November eighth (last day of term one).

Read chapter 5 (page 225 in the brown) by Friday, November twelfth.

2. Things I mentioned and/or we discussed in A-block and F-block.

Jansenism is similar in some ways to Puritanism. Human nature is not only corrupt, it is depraved. Salvation can only be achieved through God's grace and only a small number of elect will be saved. Communion should be reserved only to those who prepare for the sacrament through piety, prayer, and confession. Officially Jansenism was condemned by the Catholic Church as heretical in 1655 but aspects of Jansenism, especially the emphasis on the inherently depravity of mankind and the need for confession to purify oneself in order to receive God's grace, remained influential in Catholic countries including Ireland.

Stream of consciousness narration: Joyce uses third-person, stream of consciousness narration in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

3. Things I mentioned and/or we discussed in A-block but not in F-block.

Beautiful Losers is a film about a loosely associated group of diy visual artists creating art in the 90s & 00s, inspired by such things as skateboarding, graffiti, vintage signs and advertising, punk and indie music, surfing, urban street life, etc. Why did we talk about it? I wanted to start having a conversation about what compels a person to begin making art of any kind. I wanted also to think about how art is a way of enacting a response to one's environment. (Side note: Alfred Mansfield Brooks said that an artist is not a special kind of (hu)man but each (hu)man is a special kind of artist. So I'm talking to you.) See also Kunstlerroman below.

Epiphany, as a holiday, as a literary term popularized by James Joyce, & etymologically

Madonna (virgin)-whore complex: a psychological condition in Freudian analysis that seems relevant to aspects of A Portrait and more generally to a culture that associates ideal women with purity.

The body/soul (also, body/spirit and body/mind) problem in Western Civilization from the Greeks after Socrates through Charles Olson and Western Civ's interest in Eastern philosophies and practice that approach the body/mind problem differently (or don't see it as a problem).

Side note: Thomas Aquinas's thoughts about the soul in relation to the body are particularly relevant to A Portrait.

4. Things I mentioned and/or we discussed in F-block but not in A-block.

Irish nationalist Charles Stuart Parnell and Kitty O'Shea (the namesake of a pub on Cabot Street in Beverly) and the Christmas dinner argument in chapter 1 of A Portrait.

5. Things I meant to get to but didn't in either block.

Some notes on Joyce and the novel: Joyce wrote the book in Dublin, Ireland, Trieste, Italy; and Zurich, Switzerland. He felt he had to flee the repressive atmosphere of Ireland in order to continue writing. Many of the things that happen to Stephen happened in some form to Joyce himself though they are fictionalized, stylized, and otherwise transformed, which makes the novel (loosely speaking) a roman a clef.

Daedalus (Dedalus) and Icarus (Here's a relevant excerpt of a translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses.) (Here's a translation of the epigraph which comes from Metamorphoses and refers to Daedalus, who creates a labyrinth to entrap a Minotaur and later wax wings to escape from a tower in that labyrinth on Crete, an island : "And he sets his mind to work upon unknown arts." That trio of italicized words is significant to the novel. But there's a lot more too, especially the flying (and Icarus' falling). I wonder what you will notice as you read.

A novel of identity formation about an artist is called a Kunstlerroman.

That's enough for now.

"Question 3"-style Take Home Essay

Jane Eyre Question #3 Options Essay Due: Tuesday, October 26, 2010.

Choose one of the following open-ended Questions from past AP tests. Use your understanding of Jane Eyre* to Address the prompt in a Well-developed, well-supported, and well-organized essay. (12-point font, double spaced, MLA format. Type the prompt at the top of your essay.)

2010. “Exile” Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that “Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.” Yet Said has also said that exile can become “a potent, even enriching” experience.

Select a novel, play, or epic in which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from “home,” whether that home is the character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

2010, Form B. “Home” “You can leave home all you want, but home will never leave you.” —Sonsyrea Tate. Sonsyrea Tate’s statement suggests that “home” may be conceived of as a dwelling, a place, or a state of mind. It may have positive or negative associations, but in either case, it may have a considerable influence on an individual. Choose a novel or play in which a central character leaves home yet finds that home remains significant. Write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the importance of “home” to this character and the reasons for its continuing influence. Explain how the character’s idea of home illuminates the larger meaning of the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

2009, Form B. “Political or social issue” Many works of literature deal with political or social issues. Choose a novel or play that focuses on a political or social issue. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author uses literary elements to explore this issue and explain how the issue contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

2008. “Foil” In a literary work, a minor character, often known as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or behavior of the minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. Choose a novel or play in which a minor character serves as a foil to a main character. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

2008, Form B. “Childhood and adolescence” In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. Focusing on a single novel or play, explain how its representation of childhood or adolescence shapes the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

2006, Form B. “Physical Journey” In many works of literature, a physical journey - the literal movement from one place to another - plays a central role. Choose a novel, play, or epic poem in which a physical journey is an important element and discuss how the journey adds to the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

2005. “Outward conformity, inward questioning” In Kate Chopin's The Awakening (1899), protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess "That outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions." In a novel or play that you have studied, identify a character who outwardly conforms while questioning inwardly. Then write an essay in which you analyze how this tension between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid mere plot summary.

2005, Form B. “Power” One of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire for power. Write an essay in which you discuss how a character in a novel or a drama struggles to free himself or herself from the power of others or seeks to gain power over others. Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author uses this power struggle to enhance the meaning of the work.

2004. “The question minus the answer” Critic Roland Barthes has said, "Literature is the question minus the answer." Choose a novel, or play, and, considering Barthes' observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers answers. Explain how the author's treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

2002. “Moral ambiguity” Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

2000. “Mysteries” Many works of literature not readily identified with the mystery or detective story genre nonetheless involve the investigation of a mystery. In these works, the solution to the mystery may be less important than the knowledge gained in the process of its investigation. Choose a novel or play in which one or more of the characters confront a mystery. Then write an essay in which you identify the mystery and explain how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

1998. “Wild thinking” In his essay "Walking," Henry David Thoreau offers the following assessment of literature: “In literature it is only the wild that attracts us. Dullness is but another name for tameness. It is the uncivilized free and wild thinking in Hamlet and The Iliad, in all scriptures and mythologies, not learned in schools, that delights us.” From the works that you have studied in school, choose a novel, play, or epic poem that you may initially have thought was conventional and tame but that you now value for its "uncivilized free and wild thinking." Write an essay in which you explain what constitutes its "uncivilized free and wild thinking" and how that thinking is central to the value of the work as a whole. Support your ideas with specific references to the work you choose.

1996. “Happy endings” The British novelist Fay Weldon offers this observation about happy endings. "The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from their readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events -- a marriage or a last minute rescue from death -- but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death." Choose a novel or play that has the kind of ending Weldon describes. In a well-written essay, identify the "spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation" evident in the ending and explain its significance in the work as a whole.

1989. “Distortion” In questioning the value of literary realism, Flannery O'Connor has written, "I am interested in making a good case for distortion because I am coming to believe that it is the only way to make people see." Write an essay in which you "make a good case for distortion," as distinct from literary realism. Analyze how important elements of the work you choose are "distorted" and explain how these distortions contribute to the effectiveness of the work. Avoid plot summary.

1987. “Social change” Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader's or audience's views. Avoid plot summary.

1985. “Pleasure and disquietude” A critic has said that one important measure of a superior work of literature is its ability to produce in the reader a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Select a literary work that produces this "healthy confusion." Write an essay in which you explain the sources of the "pleasure and disquietude" experienced by the readers of the work.

1982. “Violence” In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.

1980. “Passion and responsibility” A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

1978. “Implausibility” Choose an implausible or strikingly unrealistic incident or character in a work of fiction or drama of recognized literary merit. Write an essay that explains how the incident or character is related to the more realistic of plausible elements in the rest of the work. Avoid plot summary.

* If you wish you may replace Jane Eyre with either Invisible Man or Wide Sargasso Sea. Let me know. Be prepared to explain your choice.

Preparing for Wednesday's Student Led Discussion about Charles Olson

Preparation:

1. Thursday (10/7) & Friday (10/8): Charles Olson's biography & themes (film & lecture).

Additional terms:

Polis: (from Greek) a city, a city-state and also citizenship and body of citizens.

Maximus: "Maximus" is a persona invented by Olson in the winter of '49-'50. The persona has two major sources: Carl Jung's archetypal figure "homo maximus" (greatest man/original man) and Maximus of Tyre, a second century A.D. Greek philosopher, whom Olson was interested in primarily because he was rooted in a city, Tyre, that Olson regarded as linked to Gloucester and because he moved out from that center to explore. (Some of this information comes from A Guide to The Maximus Poems by George F. Butterick.)


2. Friday (10/8) through class time Wednesday (10/13): Read, print out, and take active reader notes on the following poems from The Maximus Poems:

Maximus, to Himself
I, Maximus of Gloucester, to You
Maximus, to Gloucester: Letter 2
The Songs of Maximus: Song 1
The Songs of Maximus: Song 2
Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 [Withheld]
[For additional preparation you might listen to a discussion of "Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 [Withheld]" here.]

Also read, print, and take notes on the following essay (an essay which changed how a great many people look at poetry) by Charles Olson:

Projective Verse

3. Wednesday (10/13) bring print out of poems and notes to class. Participate in student led class discussion.

4. Wednesday (10/13) through pumpkin time Friday (10/15) post thoughtful, insightful, exploratory response(s) in the comment box. Extend the discussion. Respond to peers. Offer new insights. Engage with the poems and each other. (You might also respond to some of what has been written by Malden High School students here.) Note: Effective responses will likely be at (or longer than) Blogger's 4,000+ character maximum for comments.

Thanks to Mr. Ryan Gallagher for the Poetry Foundation links that will help the school save some paper.

Olson 100!

For those of you who would like to attend one or more of the Charles Olson centenary events and write about it to recover credit for missed blog posts or to replace a future blog post requirement can find the schedule of events here (Olson100.blogspot.com) and can post discussion thoughts in the comment box below.

You might also check out this -- where Malden High School students talk about Charles Olson and his poetry. It's especially interesting because the students have a lot to say about Gloucester and how Olson uses Gloucester in his poems.