We are finishing Katherine Ann Porter's The Jilting of Granny Weatherall. Pay special attention as to how the technique of stream of consciousness is employed, so that the reader participates in the woman's death.
Weekend homework was to read the background material on Hemingway and the qualities that make up a code hero. (copy of the handout below)
Tomorrow: much like you wrote on Thomas Wolfe's The Far and the Near and Benchley's Tooth, there will be two short in-class essays on Hemmingway's, Steinbeck's and Porter's short stories on Tuesday. You will again be able to use your stories for specific textual evidence. That means you will need to be familar with stories, as there will not be time to read them in class.
Ernest Hemingway 1899-1961In his short stories and novels, Ernest Hemingway vividly and forcefully expressed the sentiments of many members of the post-World War I generation. Using a concise, direct style, he wrote about people’s struggles to maintain a sense of dignity while living in a seemingly hostile and confusing world.
Hemingway was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After graduating from high school, he took a job as a reporter for the Kansas City Star. He was eager to serve in World War I, and in 1918 he joined the Red Cross ambulance corps and was sent to the Italian front. Shortly after his arrival, he was severely wounded, and he spent several months recovering in a hospital in Milan. His experiences during the war shaped his views and provided material for his writing.
After the war Hemingway had a difficult time readjusting to life in the United States.. Hoping to find personal contentment and establish himself as a writer, he went to Paris where he became friends with Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and other expatriate writers and artists. His new friends provided him with valuable advice, helped to develop his style and encouraged his interest in writing.
In 1925 Hemingway published his first major work, In Our Time, a series of loosely connected short stories. A year later he published The Sun Also Rises, a novel about a group of British and American expatriates searching for sensations that will enable them to forget the pain and disillusionment they associate with life in the modern world. The novel earned him international acclaim, and he remained famous throughout the rest of his life. Yet he was almost as well known for his lifestyle as he was for his writing. Constantly pursuing adventure, he traveled the world, hunting in Africa, deep-sea fishing in the Caribbean and skiing in Idaho and Europe.
Despite his thirst for adventure, Hemingway remained a productive and successful writer, transforming his observations and experiences into novels and short stories. His novels A Farewell to Arms (1926), based on his experiences during World War I, and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), based on his observations as a war correspondent during the Spanish Civil War, have become American classics. The Old Man and the Sea (1952), the story of an old fisherman’s struggle to maintain dignity in the face of defeat, won the Pulitzer Prize and helped earn him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.
The Hemingway Code Hero
The Hemingway man was a man’s man. He was a man involved in a great deal of drinking. He was a man who moved from one love affair to another, who participated in wild game hunting, who enjoyed bullfights, who was involved in all of the so-called manly activities, which the typical American male did not participate in.
- he does not talk about what he believes in.
- he is man of action rather than a man of theory.
- he is disillusioned by the old values and concepts brought about by the First World War
- there is no life after death, but you must challenge death in life; in this you will discover your potential.
- Rejection of abstract qualities- courage, bravery, etc for absolute values that grow out of every moment of every day.
- Don’t talk- do, as talking is emotionalism and then the act looses the importance.
- Intense loyalty to a small personal group.
DUE TUESDAY MAY 29: vocabulary 15
Vocabulary 15 definitions
1. amenity (noun)- that which is pleasant or agreeable; (plural) attractive features or customs
2. aperture (noun)- an opening, gap, hole; orifice
3. dissidence (noun)- a difference of opinion; discontent; disagreement, dissent , disaffection
4. epicurean (adj)- devoted to the pursuit of pleasure; fond of good food, comfort and ease; with discriminating tastes; (noun) a person with discriminating tastes; hedonistic, sybaritic, discriminating
5. improvident (adj.)- not thrifty; failing to plan ahead; prodigal, spendthrift, extravagant
6. iniquity (noun)- wickedness, sin; a grossly immoral act; evil, crime
7. inviolable (adj.) – sacred; of such a character that it must not be broken, injured or profaned
8. mutable (adj)- open to or capable of change; changeable, variable
9. nascent (adj).)- just beginning to exist or develop; having just come into existence; budding, incipient, embryonic
10. obeisance (noun)- a deep bow or other body movement indicating respect or submission; deference, homage
11. panegyric (noun) formal or elaborate praise; a tribute; encomium, testimonial
12. pillory (noun)- a device for publicly punishing offenders; a means for exposing one to public contempt or ridicule; (verb)- to expose to public contempt or ridicule
13. pittance (noun)- a woefully meager allowance, wage or portion; modicum, trifle
14. presage (verb)- to foreshadow or point to a future event; to predict; (noun) a warning or indication of the future; augur, portend, foretell
15. progeny (noun)- descendants, offspring. children, followers, disciples
16. promulgate (verb)- to proclaim; to make known far and wide; announce
17. rectitude (noun)- uprightness, righteousness, correctness; probity, integrity
18. restive (adj)- restless, hard to manage, balky; uneasy, fidgety, recalcitrant
19. seraphic (adj)- angelic, heavenly, celestial, cherubic; cherubic
20. subsist (verb) to have existence; to remain alive, manage o make a living or maintain life; to persist or continue; last, sustain, survive
Vocabulary 15 exercise 1 Fill in the blank with the correct definition.
1. We are sure that their vow is ______________________________ because their sense of moral obligation will prevent them from ever breaking it.
2. Conscientious parents will do everything they can to foster and develop the _______________________ intellectual curiosity of a small child.
3. Imagine someone with my _____________________ tastes having to live for a week on that watery mush!
4. The biography is a pretty evenhanded appraisal of the man’s strengths and weaknesses, not just another _________________________ to a great hero.
5. I see no reason to question the _______________________ of her dealings with us since I know her to be “as honest as the day is long.”
6. He inveighs against the sins of society with all the stridency of an Old Testament prophet castigating the _____________________ of the ungodly.
7. The wranglers suspected that there were wolves or mountain lions nearby when the herd suddenly grew nervous and _____________________________.
8. The Bible tells us that visitors to the court of Solomon, the great Hebrew king, willingly paid him ______________________________.
9. For many ancient peoples, the appearance of a comet was a fearful omen that _______________________ great social upheaval.
10. After a few days in which everything went my way, I suddenly learned just how _________________________ Lady Luck can be.
11. Am I to be ____________________________ before the entire student body because I made a few minor mistakes as a member of the Student Council?
12. The liberties that we have inherited from our forefathers are a sacred trust that we must pass on undiminished to our ________________________.
13. Authoritarian governments often resort to violence and coercion in their efforts to repress political ___________________________.
14. Our financial situations are so different that what she considers a mere _________________ seems a fortune to me.
15. It was the _________________________ of its natural setting on those rolling hills that led the architect to dub the estate “Mount Pleasant.”
16. The President has ____________________________ a policy that commits the nation to curbing pollution.
17. “I’m afraid that the child’s seraphic countenance belies the devilry in his heart,” I observed sadly.
18. The __________________________ on most cameras can be adjusted to admit more or less light, as required.
19. Nutritionists say that most of us could ________________________ on a great deal less food than we actually consume.
20. Though I’m by no means ________________________ with my money, I don’t hoard it either.
Vocabulary 15 Exercise 2
1. The artist painted the children with ________________________ smiles to suggest their innocence.
2. Peasants in the nineteenth-century Ireland were able to ______________________ almost exclusively on potatoes.
3. After the earthquake, rain and cold came through the ______________________ in the wall of the damaged house.
4. Safeguarding the retirement income of millions of Americans is a(n) _____________________________ trust of the federal government.
5. The candidate tried to ________________________ her political opponent by suggesting that he had ties to organized crime.
6. In comparison to the overwhelming need for food and medicine, the shipment was a mere ______________________.
7. The School Board __________________________ a new approach to education that emphasized phonics.
8. The chef took a(n) _____________________________ delight in presenting the most delicious dishes to his demanding clientele.
9. When I backpack there are certain basic __________________________ such as clean sheets and a dry tent, that I find I sometimes miss.
10. The speaker delivered a ____________________________ in honor of the award-winning author.
11. The mayor is a person of unquestionable ________________________; his honesty is indisputable.
12. The Bill of Rights guarantees certain civil rights and protections to ourselves and our __________________________.
13. When the commanding officer announced that all leave was cancelled, there was widespread ______________________ in the ranks.
14. Some people are so _______________________________that despite high incomes they struggle to make ends meet.
15. The ____________________________ horse had not been taken out of the stable for five days.
16. The skirmishes at the border _____________________ a war.
17. English Puritans looked upon the court that surrounded King Charles I as a den of ____________________________.
18. Upon entering the throne room, each courtier made a respectful __________________________ before the king and queen.
19. The ____________________________ was placed in the center of town so that everyone could view the outlaws and their shame.
20. Recent public opinion polls registered _____________________________opposition to the proposed tax increases.
Vocabulary 15 exercise 3
Synonyms
1. tried to survive in a desert _______________________________
2. dark clouds portending rain _______________________________
3. the angelic tones of the choir ______________________________
4. challenged the integrity of the judge _____________________________
5. a hedonistic display of luxury _____________________________
6. stuffed the orifice with old newspapers ______________________________
7. showed a budding interest in politics _____________________________
8. paid respect to those who came before her _____________________________
9. the pleasantness of a quiet garden _____________________________
10. sacrosanct principle of equality _____________________________
11. will be punished for their crimes ______________________________
12. repaid a mere modicum of what is owed ______________________________
13. announced by the public health authorities ______________________________
14. fidgety after the caffeine _______________________________
15. a fickle disposition _______________________________
Antonyms
16. insulted the king’s ancestors ______________________________
17. always praises those in authority ______________________________
18. gave a long diatribe on the military ______________________________
19. widespread political agreement ______________________________
20. a thrifty manager ______________________________
Vocabulary 15 exercise 4
1. Religious (obeisance / dissidence) was one of the motives that led many people to leave their homes and found colonies in North America.
2. Writers often regard their works as their (dissidence / progeny) in much the same way as other people regard their pets as family members.
3. The resounding victory we scored at the polls is an eloquent tribute to the (rectitude / dissidence) of her approach as campaign manager.
4. As the speaker’s remarks became more inflammatory, the crowd grew more sullen and (nascent / restive).
5. The novel centers on a(n) (improvident / seraphic) young man who squanders his inheritance on riotous living and dies in the poorhouse.
6. I realize the official made a serous mistake, but that is no reason to (pillory /subsist) him so unmercifully in the press.
7. We would like to believe that the intensifying fear of ecological catastrophe (subsists / presages) an era of environmental harmony in the near future.
8. The cost of living has risen so sharply that a salary that was adequate a decade ago is now no more than a mere (panegyric / pittance.)
9. The new “gourmet” deli features delicacies that are bound to delight even the most exacting of (epicurean / nascent) palates.
10. No matter how well defended, no boundary is (inviolable / restive) unless the people on either side of it respect each other.
11. “Angelica” is indeed an apt name for one whose (mutable / seraphic) beauty is complemented by such sweetness of temper and gentleness of spirit.
12. One cannot expect a(n) (epicurean /nascent) democracy to go through its early years without experiencing serious growing pains.
13. Recently, the Principal (promulgated / presaged) a new dress code that abolished some of the unnecessary strictness of the old rules.
14. Liberty (subsists / presages) only so long as people have the intelligence to know their rights and the courage to defend them.
15. There was a loophole in the law, and through this (aperture / obeisance) the defendant escaped the legal consequences of his crime.
16. Instead of being so concerned with the (iniquities / apertures) of others, they would do well to concentrate on correcting their own shortcomings.
17. The study of government shows us that many political institutions thought to be unchanging are in fact highly (inviolable / mutable).
18. Specific customs vary widely in different lands, but the basic (affectations / amenities) of civilized living are much the same everywhere.
19. Like so many others of his generation, he paid unquestioning (iniquity / obeisance) to the accepted symbols of material success.
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