Transcript Contemporary - Elida High School

Contemporary
1939-present
Transitions
 Wars,

wars, and more wars
Social protests
 Introduction

of technology
Destruction that comes with it
 Technological
paranoia
 Media saturated culture
Transition
 Read

“Political and Social Milestones”
794-795
 Read
“Contemporary Literature 1939 to
Present”

Pgs. 796-809
Characteristics
 Known
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
as postmodern
Multiple meanings
Multiple realities – imagined and realistic
 Still
like to stray from traditional grammar
and mechanics of Standard English
 Makes reference to the past
 Self-conscious
 Mix of fiction & non-fiction
 More multi-cultural literature
 Introduction of successful female authors
Contemporary Poetry
 Beat
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
poets
Non-conformist attitude
“Hippie-esque”
Highly intellectual
Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsburg, Greg Corso
 Confessional
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
poets
Reflective of personal lives
Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, Anne Sexton
Beat Poets
 Allen

Ginsburg
“Howl”
 Gregory
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
Corso
Born: 1930, NY
“awakener of youth” - according to Ginsburg
In and out of prison
Spent time in an institution
Died in 2001
“One: Number 31” – Jackson Pollock
Writing: Journal #4.5
5/12/14
 In
your journal, respond to what makes
Jackson Pollock a contemporary painter?
Reflect on the possibilities of how The Beat
Movement and “The American Way” can
be seen through this image.
 Sign
your journal with your number.
“A&P” Literary Devices Quiz
On a separate sheet of paper, please write down
the answers to the following statements. You may
use the story. You have 5-10 minutes.
 List
3 similes from the story. (1 about the girls, 1
about the shoppers, 1 miscellaneous)
 List 3 metaphors from the story. (1 about the girls,
1 about the shoppers, 1 miscellaneous)
 What do the herring snacks represent in the
story?
John Updike
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John Updike
1932-2009
Full scholarship to
Harvard
Began writing in
1950
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
Jeffery Brown
interview with
John Updike

Staff writer for
The New Yorker
1960s-2000s wrote
Rabbit series
On average,
wrote one novel
per year
“A&P” written
1961
“A&P” Literary Definitions
 Foil
– a character with similar traits as the
protagonist, yet goes against the
protagonist
 Coming-of-age
story – usually suggests a
loss of innocence and an epiphany that
leads to maturity
“A&P” Discussion Questions
 Is
Updike’s description of the other shoppers in
the market positive or negative?
 Is Sammy’s gesture of quitting “heroic” or
something else?
 Critics say that “A&P” is a modern-day fairy tale.
Do you agree? Which characters fall into fairy
tale stereotypes?
 Is “A&P” a coming-of-age story …or nah?
 What assumptions does Sammy make about his
readers’ familiarity with the setting? Is the
supermarket setting crucial to the story?
 How are Queenie and Sammy’s worlds different?
“A&P” Discussion Questions
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Where do you see hypocrisy in the story?
To what extent does Sammy oversimplify many of the
customers and characters in the story?
Who serves as a foil to Sammy in the story?
We know the location, and time period of the novel.
What is the girls’ transgression (crime/error) in light of
these circumstances?
At the end of the story, Sammy says, “…my stomach
kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to
be to me hereafter.” Why does he say this? What
does he mean?
What previous literary movement does “A&P”
reflect?
Though it reflects a previous movement, what makes
“A&P” contemporary?
Toni Cade Bambara
 Born
1939 in Harlem, NY
 Social activist, professor,
social worker
 Died 1995 in Pennsylvania
from colon cancer
 Referred to her writing as
“upbeat fiction.”
 Works frequently told from
1st person perspective
 Narrator is often a sassy,
young girl who is tough,
and brave
“The Lesson” Quiz
 Explain
much.
 Miss
why Sylvia hates Miss Moore so
Moore is clearly trying to teach the
children something; what is the lesson?
“The Lesson” Discussion
 In
what ways is Miss Moore an outsider in her own
community?
 Why is Sylvia ashamed and angry when in F.A.O.
Schwartz?
 Why does Bambara compare Sylvia’s shame in
the toy store to the “crashing Catholic mass”
incident?
 Why does Bambara have Sylvia narrate the story
instead of Miss Moore?
 Which character is a foil for Sylvia in the story?
Why?
 What is important about the last phrase, “But
ain’t nobody gonna beat me at nuthin.”
Writing: Journal #4.6
 In
 Do
5/14/14
someone else’s journal, compare “A&P” to
“The Lesson.”
both stories teach a lesson? If so, what is it?
 Sign
the journal with your number.
Confessional Poet - Sylvia Plath
 Read
pg. 1049
 Poems:



“Daddy”
“Mirrors”
“Jabberwocky”
“Jabberwocky”
 Johnny
Depp Version
 Did the narrator slay the jabberwocky?
How can you tell?
 What literary devices do you see in the
poem?
 What is the point/purpose of the poem?
“Daddy”
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What is the tone of the poem?
Some critics say the poem is angry. If you agree, why
is Plath so angry?
How does Plath use her life to influence her poetry?
What does Plath think of her father?
What can you infer about Plath’s life?
To what does she compare her father? Why does she
use these comparisons?
How does this poem reflect the contemporary
movement?
What images stood out to you while listening/reading
the poem?
Does the poem carry more weight when listening to
the author read the poem?
Joyce
Carol
Oates

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June 16, 1938 born in Lockport, New York
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was “the
great treasure of my childhood, and the
most profound literary influence of my life.”
Graduated from Syracuse University and
then University of Wisconsin - Madison
1966 – “Where Are You Going, Where Have
You Been”
Won two O.Henry awards (1967 & 1973)
3 novels nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
Teaches at Princeton University
 plans to retire in July of 2014
2012 – Lifetime Literary Achievement Award
Writes longhand – 8am to 1pm every day
“When people say there is too much
violence in my books, what they are saying
is there is too much reality in life.”
SHE EVEN HAS A TWITTER @JoyceCarolOates
“Where Are You Going,
Where Have You Been?”
“Our house is made of glass… and our lives are
made of glass; and there is nothing we can do to
protect ourselves.” –Joyce Carol Oates
“Where Are You Going…”
Interpretation

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Which characters portray the idea that the face is a
mask?
“The kitchen looked like a place she had never seen
before.” Why is it important that Arnold is cutter her
off from her past?
Why does Arnold Friend draw an X in the air? What
does this imply?
Consider the numbers written on Arnold Friend’s car –
33, 19, 17 – What do you think they represent?
Why does Connie go against the stereotypes of a
typical abduction victim? Is she acting like a hero or
something else?
“Where Are You Going…”
The End
 When
do you begin to become uncomfortable
or suspicious of Arnold?
 At the end of the story, Connie has an out of
body experience, “She watched herself push the
door slowly open…” Why?
 Is Connie in danger? What happens to her?
 Why does Oates leave the ending of the story
ambiguous?
“Where Are You Going…”
Characterization




When does Connie feel most alive?
What is Ellie’s role in the development of the story?
Oates admits the character of Arnold Friend was
inspired by “The Pied Piper of Tucson” a known rapist
and murderer. How does the physical description of
Friend paint him as evil?
Comment on how Connie and Arnold are depicted
in the following excerpt:

“And his face was a familiar face, somehow; the jaw
and chin and cheeks slightly darkened, because he
hadn’t shaved for a day or two, and the nose long and
hawk-like, sniffling as if she were a treat he was going to
gobble up and it was all a joke.”
“Where Are You Going…”
Making Connections
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Consider the story of “Little Red Riding Hood.” What
connections can you make between the stories?
How do the references to music enhance the story?
How do the references to teenage culture enhance the
story?
Greg Johnson, in Understanding Joyce Carol Oates,
argues that “Where Are You Going, Where Have You
Been” has explicit feminist concerns. What are those
concerns?
What does the story tell us about how physical beauty is
perceived by society?
How is “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” a
commentary on American society?
Writing: Journal #4.7
5/21/14
 Choose
one of the two elements to write about:
Connie’s behavior or the relationship with her
family, specifically her mother.
 Why
were these elements played up more in the
film compared to the story? What effect does
this have on the story, or your previous
conceptions about the story?
 Sign
your journal with your number.
Confessional Poets
Anne Sexton
 Read
pg. 1055
 Poems:


“The Bells”
“Young”
Robert Lowell
 Poems:


“Home After
Three Months
Away”
“The Old Flame”
“The Bells”
 To
whom is the speaker
speaking?
 What is the tone &
mood of the poem?
 How does the narrator
feel about her father;
how can you tell?
 What prompts the
speaker to remember
the past?
 What do the rings in
lines 18 & 21
represent?
“Circus” Marc Chagall
“Young”



“Me and the Moon” Arthur Dove

What is the tone of the
poem? What is the
mood of the poem?
How do the images
present impact the
tone?
Why does the speaker
say that her youth took
place “a thousand
doors ago?”
What is important
about the metaphor
used to describe her
parents’ window?
Robert Lowell - Background
 Born
March 1, 1917 in Boston
 Known for being a bully
 Went to Harvard for two years
 Married & divorced Jean Stafford; Married &
divorced Elizabeth Hardwick; Married Caroline
Blackwood
 Mental health issues – in and out of mental
institutions due to manic depression
 Died 1977 from a heart attack
“Home After Three Months
Away”
 Where
do you think he was?
 What literary device is prevalent in this
poem?
 What images stand out the most?
 Knowing where Lowell was, how do these
images enhance the poem?
“My Old Flame”
 Written
for his first wife – Jean Stafford
 Summarize each stanza of the poem.
What is happening?
 How do you interpret the 4th and 5th
stanza?
 Why does Lowell reference the American
flag and the red, white, and blue colors?
 Is his wife dead or just … away from him?
“Christina’s World” – Andrew Newell Wyeth
Writing: Journal #4.8
5/27/14
 How
does “Christina’s World” reflect the
contemporary movement and the
literature in it?
 Sign
your journal with your number.
Congrats, you’re done journaling!