English 132 Carolyn Nelson

Fall 2003 Office: 329 Stansbury

10:30-11:20 MWF Office: 11:30-12:30 MWF .

340 Brooks cnelson2@wvu.edu

Short Story and Novel

Required Texts:

R. S. Gynn, ed. Fiction: A Pocket Anthology (Penguin)

Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees (Penguin)

Toni Morrison, Sula (Plume)

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (Broadview)

Readings and Assignments

All readings and page numbers are from Fiction: A Pocket Anthology unless otherwise indicated.

8/18 Introduction to the course

8/20 Ways of telling a story:Introduction pp. 3-6 & 18-20. Atwood 344; Chopin 70

8/22 Cheever 212

8/25 Porter 133

8/27 Garcia Marquez 260

8/29 Moore 422

9/1 Labor Day Recess

9/3 Faulkner 154

9/5 Rites of passage: Cather 94

9/8 Wright 186; Updike 297

9/10 Oates 327

9/12 Tan 399

9/15 Test #1

9/17 The Secret Life of Bees, Chapters 1 & 2 (1-56)

9/19 Bees, Chapters 3 & 4 (57-81)

9/22 Bees, Chapters 5 & 6 (82-114)

9/24 Bees, Chapters 7 & 8 (115-164)

9/26 Bees, Chapters 9 & 10 (165-213)

9/29 Bees, Chapters 11 & 12 (214-256)

10/1 Bees, Chapters 13 & 14 (257-302)

10/3 Bring to class the first paragraph of your paper on the novel which contains your thesis statement.

10/6 Romance/Relationships: Mason 348

10/8 Hurston 142

10/10 Paper #1 due.

10/13 Wharton 81

10/15 Sula 3-48

10/17 Sula 49-85

10/20 Sula 89-137

10/22 Sula 138-174

10/24 Choices & Consequences: Camus 215

10/27 Walker 362; Steinbeck 175

10/29 Joyce 113; Hemingway 164

10/31 Bring to class the first paragraph of your paper which contains your thesis statement. The paper should be on any work or works we read from 10/6 on.

11/3 Frankenstein, Volume 1, Chapters 1-3

11/5 Frankenstein, Volume 1, Chapters 4-7

11/7 Frankenstein, Volume 2, Chapters 1-3. Paper #2 due.

11/10 Frankenstein, Volume 2, Chapters 6-9

11/12 Frankenstein, Volume 3, Chapters 1-3

11/14 Frankenstein, Volume 3, Chapters 4-6

11/17 Frankenstein, Volume 3, Chapter 7

11/19 Images of Death: O'Connor 244

11/21 Carver 304

Thanksgiving Recess: November 22 to November 30

12/1 Ellison 228

12/3 Erdrich 412

12/5 Maupassant 63

Final Exam: Wednesday, December 10, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Policies and Requirements

This course will introduce you to a variety of fiction, including short stories and novels, written during the last two hundred years by authors from different countries. The class

should help you learn to read fiction with greater understanding and appreciation. It will also help you to learn how to write about fiction, developing your own ideas through careful reading and critical analysis.

Attendance: In order to get the greatest benefit from the class, it is important to read the assigned material for the day before coming to class. Always bring your book to class with you. You are permitted to have 4 absences. After that, 2 points per absence will be subtracted from your final grade. If some crisis comes up in your life, you need to notify me as well as the university immediately, not at the end of the semester. If you have any questions about the assignments or your progress in the course, please see me during office hours or after class, or send me an e-mail message. Please turn off cell phones before coming to class.

Class Discussions: Students are expected to contribute in a meaningful way to the class discussion. Class participation does not mean that you simply need to talk a lot in class. Rather, it means contributing ideas and insights that have taken into consideration the class readings and other students' contributions.

Response Papers: You are required to write response papers on the readings for 8 of the 15 weeks of the semester. Hand these in on Friday. Include a brief discussion of some of the events of the story or novel and your reaction to them. Do not provide a plot summary of the work or make remarks such as "I found this story to be boring." Such responses will receive low grades. The responses should be typed, with appropriate headings, and will receive from O to 5 points. They cannot be made up at a later date. Do not send these papers, or any others, by e-mail.

Presentation: Students who would like to make a presentation to the class or lead the discussion on one of the readings for the day are encouraged to do so. This presentation should be about 10 minutes and can take a variety of forms, such as handing out questions for discussion, assigning student groups a question or topic to discuss among themselves, having a quiz, etc. Don't just read notes to the class. The main goal is to get the class involved. Depending on the quality of the presentation, you will get from O to 5 points added to your final grade. This is the only extra credit that it is possible to earn.

Grades: Your grade will be calculated on the basis of the points seen below. All tests

must be taken on the assigned day and late papers will be graded down 5 points for each late day.

Reading Responses: 8 x 5 points each 40 points

Test: 15

Papers (15 pts. each x 2) 30

Final Exam: 15