Blog Assignment #1, due by 09/05

Directions: Choose two of the following questions to answer. You can answer them in one post. 

1. Review this site and choose one of the "Red Riding Hood" stories (seven are listed). Using a few of the ideas discussed in class (wolf as metaphor, various possible "morals" of the story, etc.), discuss one of these versions. Why did you choose it? What do you find interesting/intriguing/debatable/strange about it? How does your version figure in to the conversation we had? Quote directly once or twice, please. 

2. Explain the nature of the internal and external conflicts in the version you've selected, being sure to provide textual evidence that supports these identifications (that is, it's not enough to say "there's an internal conflict within LRRH"; you have to explain how the tale itself suggests/shows that this conflict is indeed present). Quote directly once or twice, please. 

3. Read and respond to the posted article "Dances with Wolves", posted in the folder "Segment on Fairy Tales".  Write a paragraph-long summary of the article, quoting directly once or twice. Then, highlight one or two points she makes that you find the most interesting/intriguing. Do you agree? Disagree? Does anything we've discussed in the last few minutes inform your response to this essay?

4. Having read "The Cask of the Amontillado", answer question #2 (just using "Cask" rather than LRRH).

5.  Read one of the critical essays on "Cask" that 's posted in BB's Content under "The Horror Story". Summarize the essay in a detailed paragraph that makes use of a direct quote or two. Then, explain how the article informs your understanding or appreciation for the short story itself. (Technically, Question #5 offers two choices: one of the articles is historically based, examining a fearful social practice and the psychology behind Poe's fears (fear that finds concrete representation in the story) while the other focuses on analysis of the plot as "masterplot", the setting, characterization, theme, and effect on the reader).

Reading for Wednesday

We've got one short story, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" that we'll be discussing, along with irony, beginning on Wednesday. I'll be posting another few for the following week, but we'll start here. :) While you CAN easily find a lot of summary/analysis of this short story online, I really encourage you to get through it on your own - you won't learn much about the analytical process if you're reading someone else's. 

We'll talk about the story primarily within the context of plot, character, and point of view (we will talk in more detail about these major literary elements, all of which we've already discussed briefly, as we get to those elements in the textbook reading.) We'll begin looking at irony, another major element. This one is tougher to identify and work with, so we'll be spending a good amount of time on it as we move forward. :)

Question.

When is the Allen Poe Poem going to be posted up? Has it been posted up yet?

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if this works, i am a god

edit: godliness confirmed. i can both comment and post new blogs. feel free to bow to me now

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We're reading Bluebeard.