Sula 163-174

This blog assignment is optional. It is NOT in true-false mode.

1. How might the way the book ends affect the book's meaning?

2. Is it possible that Sula is both wicked, or mean, AND liked or even loved by the reader? If so, how?

3. Morrison presents us with various women, none of them perfect. Is it possible to be more whole, more complete, as a woman? On the evidence of this book, does the author think it is possible to be more whole, more complete, as a woman?

Sula 147-162

Don't forget the quoted passage.

1. T or F Shadrack is becoming more sane.

2. T or F Sula's attitude toward Nel, expressed in her thoughts after Nel leaves her, are typical of Sula.

3. T or F There are some sad and evocative images concerning poverty in this reading.

4. T or F His memory of Sula helped Shadrack become more sane.

Sula 131-146

As before: find a quotation that supports you position, true or false, and briefly explain. Do only one of the questions.

T or F:

1. The Ajax-Sula lover-relationship helps her grow and develop as a person.

OR

2. Ajax and Sula are similar in some ways.

OR

3. In the conversation with Sula, Nel shows herself to be her mother's daughter (i.e. she acts as her mother Helene might have).

OR

4. In the conversation with Nel, Sula's remarks are connected to the passage on p. 12o about the spider web, the snake, and the free fall.

Sula 112-131

Once again, we're looking for a quotation that supports or refutes one of the statements below, plus a brief explanation of your reasoning. The quotation is important.

1. T or F: This reading contains at least one explanation of why Sula can do such terrible things.

OR

2. T or F: Sula and Ajax's mother have something in common.

OR

3. T or F: Ajax is presented as an attractive person in this reading.

OR

4. T or F: Despite her doing evil things, Sula's coming to the Bottom is atually helpful to people there.

Sula 79-85, 89-94

DON'T FORGET: quote a passage, however brief, that supports your opinion.

Re 79-85:

T or F: This section of the book includes an indirect (or possibly direct) critique of an aspect of racism.

OR

T or F: Jude and Nel are thinking clearly when they decide to marry each other.

Re 89-94:

T or F: The argument between Nel and Eva is more Eva's fault than Sula's.

OR

T or F: there are indications in the text that the author/narrator sides with Eva when she says that what Sula needs is to have babies.

Sula 67-78

Kentucky Wonder beans

1. T or F: The basic problem the people have in this book is poverty.

OR

2. T or F: There is some evidence so far that this is a feminist book.

OR

3. On p. 66, women at Chicken's funeral feel that "the only way to avoid the hand of God is to get in it."

T or F: pp. 67-78 seem to represent an argument that this statement ("the only way to avoid the hand of God is to get in it") is true.

T or F: The reader forgives Nel and Sula for their handling of the Chicken incident.
OR
T or F: Overall, Ajax is presented as a positive character (p. 50)
OR
T or F: the depiction of the whites (63-64) is, overall, positive.
OR
T or F: the part in which Sula and Nel lie down in the shade, but before Chicken arrives, has some symbolic or matephorical possibilities.

Sula 30-48

I'm having trouble finding an image to go with this weekend's reading. Any suggestions?

Do just one:
T or F: Hannah Peace and Helene Wright are opposites of each other.
OR
T or F: as terrible as Eva's killing of her own son is, it does not mean that Eva is a monster.
OR
T or F: the author's attitude towards Eva's killing of her son seems to be about what it is toward most everything else.
OR
T or F: Eva's killing of her son is of a piece with her other ways.

True or False: Helene Wright is a sympathetic character in this reading assignment (that is, the reader finds herself rooting for Helene).

OR

T or F: Helene's mother, Rochelle, is a sympathetic character.

OR

In the scene on the train, the novel makes a nuanced (specific, fine-grained) statement about racism.

Same directions as yesterday.

King Lear 3.2-3.6

Ian McKellan as King Lear. This from a scene in the play we haven't read yet; he's embracing Gloucester.

Please comment on what's going on in these scenes in a general way or comment on a specific line or moment. If you haven't already and don't know what to write, try grappling with/handling a few specific lines. Then you'll have something to say. Don't forget to check in.

Mrs. Dalloway 181-190

A street map of part of London. The orange dots trace Mrs. Dalloway's morning walk. The violet dots are Elizabeth's route up to St. Paul's. Septimus and Crezia are in red. Peter is blue,
Richard is yellow. Source: http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~sparks/TVSeminar/dallwalkmap.html

In this final reading assignment, Clarissa Dalloway leaves her party behind by going into an unoccupied room in order to take in the information that a young World War veteran being treated by Dr. Bradshaw has killed himself by throwing himself out a window. Meanwhile, Peter and Sally (now Lady Rosseter, by marriage) are talking together and waiting for Clarissa, who has asked them to wait until others have left so they can talk. Sally and Peter go over together what they think of certain others (Peter saying funny, sharp things), go over their past times at Bourton, and allude to what has happened to each in the intervening years. They watch Elizabeth crosses the room to be with her father. Clarissa comes out of the unoccupied room to talk to them, and the book ends.

Possible prompts:
--characterize Clarissa's inner response to hearing of Septimus' death.
--what quality does Sally have that has allowed her to be happy in a way that neither Clarissa nor Peter have been happy?
--what quality does Sally say that Clarissa has that has caused her a certain "lack"? Do you agree?
--briefly describe the very end of the book and then think about why the author might have chosen to end the book this way.
--note the design on the cover of the book, a reproduction of a Kandinsky painting, painted at about the same time Mrs. Dalloway was written. Why might somebody have thought it was a good idea to have this painting on the cover?

Remember, you are not required to respond to all of these. Just choose one, or if you really want to, do two.

Mrs. Dalloway 171-181

A picture of an Edwardian graden party. Clarissa's party is indoors, and at night, and the book takes place after the Edwardian era, but it's the nearest image I could find.

Write a haiku about tonight's reading.
five syllables
seven syllables
five syllables
good luck!

Mrs. Dalloway (161-171) and King Lear (finish 1.4)

Back on page 157 of Mrs. Dalloway, the narrator writes, "For this is the truth about the soul, he thought, our self, who fish-like inhabits deep seas and plies among obscurities . . . suddenly she shoots to the surface and sports on the wind-wrinkled waves; that is, has a positive need to brush, scrape, kindle herself, gossiping."

Do one of the following:

1. paraphrase the above.

2. comment on how this remark about the our selves, our souls, work bears on something in pages 161-171.

3. In 1.4 of King Lear, everyone is trying to assert their selves; everyone's self is shooting to the surface and sporting on the wind-wrinkled waves, but in a different way than we observe this happening in Mrs. Dalloway. Comment.

I meant to keep this blog not too-time-consuming. Feel free just to do one of the above, and to keep things succinct, even though I do appreciate your more lengthy, in-depth explorations.

King Lear 1.4.134-224

One artist's rendering of Goneril and Regan

(Don't forget the reading in Mrs. Dalloway, pp. 155-161)

After reading these lines from 1.4 and consulting the notes on the left-hand pages, please find a place where you find the language notable either because of syntax or diction. Your "place" should be no more than a phrase, and could be one word. Quote it, and say what was notable about it. Good luck!

Mrs. Dalloway 147-155

"Odalisque with Yellow Persian Robe and Anemones" by Matisse

Peter Walsh notes with approval an ambulance going by; the ambulance is carrying Septimus' mangled body. Peter thinks about himself, and especially about what one might call his love life. Based on this reading, and what's come before, is Peter a sympathetic figure? Is he a fool? Both?

some catching up on Mrs Dalloway

St. Paul's Cathedral ("She walked just a little way towards St. Paul's, shyly, like some one penetrating on tiptoe, exploring a strange house by night with a candle . . . .")

What is Elizabeth, Clarissa and Richard's daughter, like? She is similar to her mother in some ways; can you define her difference? (see pages 131-136, where we see things from her point of view) AND/OR

Assume that the story of Septimus' death happens on pages 143-146, beginning with "But he remembered Bradshaw said," and ending with "and why the devil he did it, Dr. Holmes could not conceive."

Is the author editorializing here--is there some point she is trying to make in this incident, or is it just part of the story of Septimus? If you do think there is a point, what is the point? How subtly is the point made?

Mrs. Dalloway 136-147

The term "Big Ben" actually refers no to the clock or the tower but to the main ("great") bell inside the tower.



The clock face being cleaned.

How is the section of the book, pp. 136-147, typical of the entire book so far? How is it different?

Mrs. Dalloway 80-88

A world War I photograph. Note the gas masks. In this reading, we learn about Septimus' time fighting in this war. Note how his experience and his mental illness are connected.

Possible topics: how are Septimus' experience fighting the war and his illness connected?
Another possible topic: while we can't deal with this question conclusively: the two main characters so far are (arguably) Clarissa Dalloway and Septimus Smith. Does the juxtaposition of these two unrelated characters have meaning? (Of course.) What might be a possible meaning?

Mrs. Dalloway 69-80

A painting by Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf's sister, with whom she had a very close relationship.

Please select your favorite moment, phrase, or sentence and describe it (if it's a moment) or just quote it (if it's a phrase or a sentence). Don't discuss it at this time. Just describe it or quote it.

Note: there are notes in theback of the book that explain certain obscurities.

Don't forget your inferences and supporting observations concerning your chosen poem. Please have these in hand-in-able form (typing not necessary).

If you're doing a revision of your first essay, it's also due Tuesday.

Thank you

Mrs. Dalloway 63-69

Van Gogh's painting Starry Night. Is this how Septimus sometimes sees the world?


sentimental has at least three meanings:

1. marked or governed by feeling, emotional idealism, or sensibility (awareness of, sensitivity to, responsiveness to something)
2. resulting from feeling rather than reason or thought
3. having an excess of sentiment (reliance on feeling) or sensibility

Note that (1) is neutral, neither positive nor negative; (2) is either neutral or a little bit negative; (3) is pretty clearly negative.

Clarissa Dalloway worries that she might be too sentimental, at least in the eyes of Peter Walsh; that she might be guilty of definition (3).

Is Septimus, in tonight's reading, sentimental according to any of the three definitions?

Mrs. Dalloway pp. 57-63

An illustration for Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice.

Assume for the moment that in some respects Mrs. Dalloway is a comedy. Where's the humor?

Mrs. Dalloway 48-57

Trafalgar Square, across which Peter Walsh walks.

In this reading, Peter, having left Clarissa Dalloway's house, whiles away some time while waiting to meet the lawyers who are helping with the divorce of the woman he is love with. He marches alongside of some young men training to be soldiers; he follows an anonymous young woman for a while; he sits on a park bench and falls asleep; and, as I take it, he dreams ("The grey nurse resumed her knitting . . . . But to whom does the solitary traveller make reply?") In his dream he imagines some goddess-like being "showering . . . down from her hands compassion, comprehension, absolution . . . ."

compassion: feeling kindly and sympathetically toward those who are suffering

comprehension: understanding

absolution: forgiveness, as from someone with full authority to declare someone no longer subject to punishment

The prompt for this blog: how does one of thes words--compassion, comprehension, absolution--function as a value in the romantic comedy, The Awful Truth?

In other words, you needn't comment on Mrs. Dalloway tonight; I'd like you instead to discuss the movie you saw today. Thank you!

Mrs. Dalloway 39-48

Big Ben

"(The leaden circles dissolved in the air.)"

In this reading assignment, Clarissa Dalloway and Peter Walsh meet again after several years. Would you describe the meeting as passionate, not passionate, both, somewhere in between? Why?

Mrs. Dalloway pp. 30-39

An example of sky-writing.

In these pages, we learn some things about Clarissa Dalloway's love life in the time before she was married. What do we learn, and how do they affect our sense of her character? Don't feel you have to discuss every single thing we learn about her love life; comment on any number you feel appropriate. If you would like to make a comment unrelated to this specific prompt, feel free to do so.

Mrs. Dalloway 16-23

Buckingham Palace

In this section, we continue to follow the progress of the car with the important person in it, and briefly enters the consciousness of some people in the crowd at Buckingham Palace, waiting for the car, hoping to get near someone so important. They look up and see an airplane spelling out a message in the sky with its exhaust-smoke. Septimus and Lucrezia see it too.

1. See if you can spot symptoms of Septimus's mental illness in this section. Discuss. If you need to be speculative, be speculative, but keep your eye on what the text says. If you want to, turn back to Septimus's thought (or the narrator's articulation of what people like Septimus often feel: "the world has raised its whip; where will it descend?"

AND/OR

2. Discuss what life with Lucrezia's life with Septimus is like.

Mrs. Dalloway pp. 10 to the bottom of p. 16

A modern day florist's shop in London.

SKIP THIS PART if you don't want any help in figuring things out: it will be helpful to know the following. ELIZABETH is Mrs. Dalloway's daughter. MISS KILMAN is a friend of Elizabeth's of whom Mrs. Dalloway disapproves. MISS PYM is the shopwoman in the flower shop. SEPTIMUS WARREN SMITH is a major character in the book. His wife, LUCREZIA, and he are out and about.

DO THIS PART: address one or both of these questions. If you can't come up with an asnwer you're confident about, try to come up with an answer you're not confident of.

1. Mrs. D. is the protagonist (main character, heroine) of the book. Miss Kilman functions as a kind of antagonist, the person with whom the protagonist does battle, literal or figurative. Can you explain how Miss Kilman funtions in this section as an antagonist?

2. Back on p. 7, Mrs. D. recalls Peter having made her cry. Can you see why she was crying?

Mrs. Dalloway p. 7-10

The above is a picture of those who executed the "Dreadnought Hoax." One of them is Virginia Woolf. For a description of the Dreadnought Hoax, see wikipedia.com.

Please read to the bottom of page ten, "this being Mrs. Richard Dalloway." Then try to identify the different streams of Mrs. Dalloway's thoughts. For example, "Peter Walsh" is one of the things she thinks about, and her mind leaves him behind, returns to him, leaves him behind, returns to him . . . as she goes along thinking. What other "streams" flow through her mind? Give a brief example of your proposed streams, and a brief explanation where it would be helpful.

Mrs. Dalloway pages 4-7

Virginia Woolf as an adult.

(The reading ends with the words, "To dance, to ride, she had adored all that.")

Although we've only read four or so pages, we already know a lot about Clarissa Dalloway. What three adjectives might you use to describe her so far? Explain in the case of at least one of your adjectives.

Mrs. Dalloway pp.3-4

The above is a photograph of Virginia Woolf at the age of 16.

This reading assignment is approximately one page long. It ends toward the end of page four with the words "this moment of June."

Please cite your favorite sentence or pair of sentences so far and try to say why. References to syntax (the order of the words) and diction (the choice of words) are welcome.

Good luck!