Lesson 11
1. The Political 1930s
Dos Passos, USA Read “The Body of an American” (Links to an external site.)
Faulkner, “Barn Burning” (D771-83)
Steinbeck, “The Leader of the People” (http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/cst1030/1030anth/steinbec.html (Links to an external site.) )
Discussion 11
Pick one of the three questions:
1.How does Dos Passos use technique in “The Body of an American” to convey the upheavals of war?
2. What is Faulkner saying about the division between rich and poor in “Barn Burning”?
3. What is Steinbeck saying about American expansionism in “The Leader of the People”?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: STRONG OPENING THESIS, DEVELOPMENT (500 words), SUPPORT (quotations), OBJECTIVE TONE (No “I” or “we”).
Lesson 12
2. Contemporary Poetry
Ginsberg, Howl (E487-95), “A Supermarket in California” (E495)
Plath, “Daddy” (E626); “Lady Lazarus” (E622-25)
Bishop, “The Fish” (E56-58), “The Moose” (E68-72)
Lowell, “Skunk Hour” (E301), “For the Union Dead” (E303-305)
Discussion 12
Rank the poets you read for this lesson from least to most confessional. In other words, which of them seems most absorbed with personal feelings, experiences, etc., and which seem less so—and why? (Don’t simply make a list—you must rank them with a justification)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: STRONG OPENING THESIS, DEVELOPMENT (400 words), SUPPORT (quotations), OBJECTIVE TONE (No “I” or “we”).