ESSAY #3: THE ROCKING HORSE WINNER

ESSAY #3: THE ROCKING HORSE WINNER

DUE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2010

@ 12:00 NOON

ESSAY TOPIC: “The Rocking Horse Winner” (short story) vs. “The Rocking Horse Winner” (movie)

ESSAY TITLE: ESSAY #3: THE ROCKING HORSE WINNER

ESSAY STRUCTURE: Compare and contrast

ESSAY QUESTION:

“There must be more money!  There must be more money!”  Young Paul can hear the voices echoing throughout the house.  His mother teaches him that luck is more important than money, because if one is lucky he/she will always have money.  Paul's mother is "unlucky," because she is married to Paul's father, who is also "unlucky."  Paul decides that he himself is lucky, and sets out to bring enough money into the house to stop the whispers.

“The Rocking Horse Winner” was first published in Harper’s Bazaar in 1926.  The film version was released in the United Kingdom in 1949, and in the United States in 1950.

Compare and contrast the short story and the movie.  Identify and discuss the significant differences between the two. Be sure to include in your discussion Freud’s Oedipal Complex.  How might a person who only sees the movie react differently to “The Rocking Horse Winner” as compared to a person who only reads the story?  Why?

ESSAY VALUE: 100 points

ESSAY GUIDELINES: Be sure to follow the guidelines for preparing and submitting your essay. Essay guidelines are available at this link:

http://english101wcc02.blogspot.com/2010/03/essay-guidelines_12.html

Research Paper: Step Two: Thesis, Outline, Sources

RESEARCH PAPER: STEP TWO

Due Wednesday, April 14, 2010

@ 12:00 Noon EDT

RESEARCH PAPER: STEP TWO: THESIS, OUTLINE, SOURCES

This week you will submit your thesis, an outline of your research paper, and the list of sources.  Submit everything via e-mail at english101wcc@gmail.com.  Cut and paste everything into one e-mail.

If you have any questions, send an e-mail and I’ll get back to you within appropriately 24 hours.

REMINDER: Late or incomplete submissions suffer a penalty of 20 points (10% of research paper total points possible).

Here are some websites to help you put together a thesis statement:

Tips for Writing a Thesis Statement:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/

Thesis Statements:

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/thesis.html

How to Write a Thesis Statement:

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml

APPROVED AUTHORS/TITLES

Paul

Author: Richard Wright

Book: “Eight Man Short Stories”

Kristian

Author: Laura Esquivel (translated from Spanish)

Book/Movie: “Like Water for Chocolate”

Lenin

Author: Laura Esquivel (translated from Spanish)

Book/Movie: “Like Water for Chocolate”

Cesar

Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Book/Movie: "A Love in a Time of Cholera"

Heidy

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Book/Movie: “Dear John”

Kristina

Author: Julia Alvarez (translated from Spanish)

Book/Movie: “In the Time of the Butterflies”

Ana Luisa

Author: J.K. Rowling

Book/Movie: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”

Anna

Author: Kate Chopin

Short Stories:

“A Reflection”

“The Awakening”

“Madame Celestine’s Divorce”

“Regret”

Nicholas

Author: Kate Chopin

Short Stories:

“The Kiss”

“The Locket”

“Desiree’s Baby”

“A Respectable Woman”

Alexandra

Author: Alice Sebola

Book/Movie: “The Lovely Bones”

Jan

Author: Franz Kafka (translated from Czech)

(still need to confirm titles)

Lady Luck

ONLINE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Due Tuesday, April 13, 2010

@ 10:00 PM EDT

What does it mean to be lucky?

Be sure to put your first name and the initial of your last name on the post, or it will be rejected and we won't be able to enjoy your comment!

"The Rocking Horse Winner," by D. H. Lawrence

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Due Tuesday, April 13, 2010

@ 12:00 Midnight EDT

Post a Comment: Lady Luck:

http://english101wcc02.blogspot.com/2010/04/lady-luck.html

Read The Rocking-Horse Winner:

http://www.dowse.com/fiction/Lawrence.html

You may also listen online and read along (about 35 minutes):

http://www.adamsmithacademy.org/etext/RockingHorse.html

Here’s a link to an online study guide:

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides5/RockingHorse.html

You do not have to write a First Response paper. However, read the story several times and be well familiar with the plot and characters. You will later be comparing and contrasting the story with the movie.

You might also enjoy College of DuPage "CODcast" discussion of The Rocking-Horse Winner:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/english-1150-short-fiction/id276329464

"An Incident at Owl Creek Bridge," by Ambrose Bierce

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Due Tuesday, April 6, 2010

@ 12:00 Midnight

A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Alabama,

looking down into the swift water twenty feet below.

The man's hands were behind his back,

the wrists bound with a cord.

A rope closely encircled his neck.

It was attached to a stout cross-timber above his head

and the slack fell to the level of his knees.

("An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,"

by Ambrose Bierce)

Post a Comment: Ambrose "Bitter" Bierce (1842-1914?):

http://english101wcc02.blogspot.com/2010/04/ambrose-bitter-bierce-1842-1914.html

Post a Comment: The American Civil War (1861-1865):

http://english101wcc02.blogspot.com/2010/04/american-civil-war-1861-1865_01.html

Print out and read An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (and bring printout with you to class on April 7th):

http://fiction.eserver.org/short/occurrence_at_owl_creek.html

You may also follow along with an online audio version:

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (audio)

Write a First Response to An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.

Use the following writing prompts: What was your initial response to the first few paragraphs of the text? What was your first impression of Peyton Farquhar? Do you think he deserved his fate? What aspect of the work affected you most? Why?

Or free-write your own response.

Be sure to provide specific textual details and quotes from the story to justify and/or explain your response.  Remember, a first response is not a summary -- use 3-5 quotes from the story and discuss how it affected you.

Guidelines for first response papers are available here:

http://english101wcc02.blogspot.com/2010/03/first-response-paper-guidelines.html

If you have any questions, send me an e-mail at english102wcc@gmail.com, and allow up to 24 hours for a response (although I will most likely get back to you much sooner than that).

The American Civil War (1861-1865)

(Effects of a shell on the body of a Confederate soldier)

(click on picture to enlarge it to see the gruesome details)

ONLINE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Due Tuesday, April 6, 2010,

@ 10:00 PM EDT

Google "Interesting facts about the American Civil War." Find one interesting fact (that has not already been posted on this blog) and post it. Be sure to put the information into your own words (i.e., don't cut and paste from another website) to avoid plagiarism.

Be sure to put your first name and the initial of your last name on the post, or it will be rejected and we won't be able to enjoy your comment!

Ambrose "Bitter" Bierce (1842-1914?)

ONLINE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Due Tuesday, April 6, 2010,

@ 10:00 PM EDT

Google "Ambrose Bierce." Find one interesting fact about him (that has not already been posted on this blog) and post it. Be sure to put the information into your own words (i.e., don't cut and paste from another website) to avoid plagiarism. Interesting parts of his life include:

ª his childhood

ª his service in the Union Army during the American Civil War

ª his reputation in literary circles

ª events surrounding his death

Be sure to put your first name and the initial of your last name on the post, or it will be rejected and we won't be able to enjoy your comment!