There`s a spring on the table-cloth; there`s my painting; I must move the tree to the middle; that matters—nothing else.  Could she not hold fast to that, she asked herself, and not lose her temper, and not argue; and if she wanted revenge take it by laughing at him?

At the violet hour/when the eyes and back

Turn upward from the desk/when the human engine waits

Like a taxi throbbing waiting/

I Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives/

The two girls looked at each other and shook their heads wearily.  Seeing their indifference the father became angry.  “I tell you it is something for you two to be thinking about,” he cried, glaring at them.  “There is a big change coming here in America and in learning is the only hope of the coming generations.”

Heat generates to the ceiling.  Vapor in the windows.  The wild windows of other houses and Saturday night parties shining the spilling molten hot gold of real life.  I`m sweating, the big athletic sweater is killing me, making me hot, wetfaced, sad at my own party. 

I recall these scenes with a mixed feeling of pleasure and pain.  At this time, I was so reduced by illness that I could seldom walk without reeling like a drunken man, and when I rose from my seat upon the ground, the landscape suddenly grew dim before my eyes, the trees and lodges seemed to sway to and fro, and the prairie to rise and fall like the swells of the ocean.  Such a state of things is by no means enviable any where.  In a country where a man`s life may at any moment depend on the strength of his arm, or it may be on the activity of his legs, it is more particularly inconvenient.

I have decided to give you all the opportunity to boost your midterm grades (and by extension your final grades) through the completion of extra credit work. This is OPTIONAL and you will in no way be penalized for choosing not to do it.

The extra credit option is to attend one or two literary and/or cultural events (on campus, in the surrounding area, etc) and complete a one-page write-up about each. Each write-up will be worth 10 points that will be added to your midterm grade; so you have the option of earning up to 20 additional points. This also might be an option to consider if for whatever reasons you have not turned in all of the required journal entries so far (Note: You ARE still required to turn in a journal entry by the Wednesday deadline even if you are absent for the discussion section that week).

If you do choose to pursue this extra credit option, just send me a quick email listing whatever event it is that you plan to attend, and I will send you a quick confirmation that the event works for this assignment. Afterwards, you can turn the write-up in to me electronically or in hard copy. There are tons of literary and cultural events happening every week on campus and in the area, so it should not be difficult to find events that interest you.

DEADLINE: In order for them to count for extra credit, I must receive all write-ups by the last day that our discussion section meets, which is Thursday December 6.

Discussion 10/18:  Sherwood Anderson:  Winesburg, Ohio

Please read the book in its entirety, but for the purpose of our discussion I`d like you to specifically focus on the following 5 chapters: “The Book of the Grotesque,” “Hands,” “Tandy,” “The Untold Lie,” and “Departure.”

It might also be worthwhile to play closer attention to “Mother” and “Death” though we may not get to talk about those as much in discussion.

Course:  Society and Literature                Professor:  Stephen Harris

Section Instructor:  Faune Albert              Email Contact:  falbert@english.umass.edu

Office:  Bartlett 270                  Office Hours:  Thursdays 2:00-4:00pm and by appointment

This blog is for members of Society and Literature discussion sections 01 (meeting Thursdays 9:30-10:20am) and 15 (meeting Thursdays 1:00-1:50pm).  This is the place where I will post important course documents and other useful information if and as the necessity arises (i.e. questions to think about for journals and discussion and possibly other interesting links relating to the course content).  If you find something (a link, video, image, etc.) that you feel would be relevant to our discussions and that you would like to share with the class, you may also post it to the blog (though I`d highly recommend checking with me first!).