"You manufacture illusions..."

The characters in The Glass Menagerie live in the same apartment, but in very different worlds. Tom seeks a world of adventure in his movie going while Laura lives in a world of old phonograph records and tiny glass figures. What about their mother? In what world does she live? How does this world comfort or protect her from her reality? What is Tennessee Williams saying about her illusive world? (The deadline to post a response to this blog question is midnight April 20, 2011.)

Voices from Beyond...

Today, we read "Mrs. Charles Bliss" by Edgar Lee Masters. Read now the epitaph of Reverend Wiley. Compare their views and tones. (The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight Friday, April 15, 2011.)
Rev. Lemuel Wiley
I preached four thousand sermons,
I conducted forty revivals,
And baptized many converts.
Yet no deed of mine
Shines brighter in the memory of the world,
And none is treasured more by me:
Look how I saved the Blisses from divorce.
And kept the children free from that disgrace,
To grow up into moral men and women,
Happy themselves a credit to the village.
Edgar Lee Masters

The Heart Knows...

Today, we read Emily Dickinson's poem "Not with a Club the Heart is Broken." Now read this poem by Stephen Crane, and answer this prompt: "What is Crane's tone about love? Compare his view and the view of Dickinson. Which poem do you prefer? Why?" (The deadline to post a response to this blog is midnight Thursday, April 14, 2011.)

LOVE WALKED ALONE
Love walked alone.
The rocks cut her tender feet,
And the brambles tore her fair limbs.
There came a companion to her,
But, alas, he was no help
For his name was heart's pain.

By Any Other Name?

When Steinbeck first wrote this novel, he titled it "Something That Happened." Then, he remembered Robert Burn's poem "To a Mouse," from which he took the title. Which is the better title for this work? Why? (The deadline to post a response to this blog question is midnight Sunday, April 3, 2011.)

"We're on the island of misfit toys..."

Chapter Four provides a look at the "misfits" of the ranch. Even among "their kind," these four-Crooks, Lennie, Curley's wife, and Candy--show both the human need for acceptance and the desire for dominance. Explain how so. Through which of these characters did Steinbeck best convey these conflicts in the human condition? Explain specifically. (The deadline to post a response to this blog question is midnight April 1, 2011.)

"Guys like us.."

The ranch is a microcosm (miniature world) in which each character represents an archetype (a type) person. Which character has interested you the most? Why? What type/archetype does he/she represent? What do you think Steinbeck is saying about this type of person? (The deadline to post a response to this blog question is midnight Wednesday, March 30, 2011).

He who fails to learn fails to grow...

Remember when you were in elementary school? Every day you came home and one of the first things your mother asked was "What did you learn today?" You are researching your own self-picked topic. Tell us something you learned about that topic today. (The deadline to post a response to this blog question is midnight Friday, March 25, 2011.)