Introduction to Literature

Introduction to Literature Introduction 2010/9/14

Let’s Start with a Text • The Sound Collector • While you watch the film: pay attention to-- its structure: how the storybegins, develops, reaches some turning points, and ends. -- its characters: the relations between the two brothers; whether there is a contrast between the kids and the adults, and between the two kids. -- the images--The human images: are they as cute as the cartoons you've been before? What is the dominant image?-- its narrator: the who tells the story at the beginning.

While you watch it . . . The Beginning • What do you get from the beginning? What do you expect to see after watching the title & the beginning? • 1. Adults’ voices: Two women talked about the weather, that it was going to rain. Also, one marveled at the hat the other bought on sale. 2. Nature’s sound+ Adults’ voices: With the bee we get into the room, and hear the father coughing.

Let’s analyze it . . .Two Brothers • Have you noticed any conflicts or contrasts? • e.g. -- the relations between the two brothers; --the contrast between the kids and the adults. • Two brothers: The older brother (Seymour) complained about the younger, Leonard, that he was a dreamer, and he always followed him around. • Seymour: finds his brother a nuisance; Leonard, more imaginative

Structure . . .and its Turning Point. • When does the ‘action’ begin? Seymour, the older brother, could not go out, so he is forced to play with Leonard. Leonard says that he collects sounds, but Seymour does not believe in him. • Leonard starts to imagine different things with the sounds he hears: “Hey, Listen to that.” • Seymour: “take a hike” (go away); "Leonard, cut it out.“ -- Mother: “Matt, the window” • “You can hear the ocean inside.”

Is Leonard a nuisance? Leonard’s Imagination • Father’s rocking chair: Robber with squeaky shoes coming around the corner • Sounds from a seashell: A story about the submarine, a shipwreck, … • A guy fishing • (mother’s dropping pots and pans) Fished up old pots and pans,

The Working of Imagination • “A suit of armor”  a story • Toaster  Castle • Father ‘s gargling Monster guarding it. • Water boiling  A Dracula with a toothache. • Bee  dentist drilling; • telephone – the guy’s wife • Egg-beater helicopter

The Endings…Game Picked up by Seymour • Father’s snore  the dentist turns into a lion, scaring the Dracula away • Outside – feet tramping on some twigs evil kings who eat snails for breakfast; a bike’s horn  sounds like Dad • Clouds – a fish, a mermaid, a dragon …

Questions for you… • How do you compare the two brothers? • What do you think about the ending? • What’s special about this animation and esp. its presentation of human figures? • What do you make of the text?

The Plot • Beginning: Setting: a boring rainy afternoon in a suburban house. • Middle: Development of a tension: between the two brothers. • Turning Points –- The older brother gets interested in joining the game. –- The rain stops and Leonard loses interest in collecting sounds. • Ending –- The two brothers go out, lie on the lawn and keep on imagining. Seymour keeps on listening, but Leonard starts to use his eyes...

The Characters • -- How does Seymour look at Leonard? Do you relate to your siblings in similar ways? • -- How does Seymour respond to the story Leonard tells? • -- How does he tell the story differently from Leonard when the mother drops pots and pans on the floor? When does he gets interested? • -- Why does Leonard finish the story so abruptly? Does that say something about how a child thinks? How about Leonard as an older kid? What do you think about the ending he gives? Also, what do you think about the different games they have when going outside the house?

Children’s Imagination • Example • 1) their father rocking on the rocking chair --> a thief coming around the corner 2) cone shell --> a story about a submarine, a shipwreck, the ocean, a guy fishing, 3) the dog making the mother drop all the pots and pans, a racket --> the guy fishes up old pots and pans, or fishes up a suit of armor; --> the toaster --> As soon as the guy puts on the armor, a castle pops up in front of him.

Children’s Imagination (2) • --> the father gargling --> a monster is guarding the gate of the castle. --> the father gargling --> a dragon? --> the tea pot whistling --> a Dracula screaming because of his toothache --> the bee sound --> the guy a dentist drilling the teeth of the Dracula; --> the telephone --> the guy’s wife comes to his rescue in a helicopter; As soon as the sky clears up, Leonard says, ’the end,’ and goes to look at the sun. But his brother kept on figuring out another ending. The father’s snoring --> The dentist turns into a lion, and scared the Dracula away forever. A girl stepping on some twigs-> An evil king who eats nails for breakfast.

The Two Brothers: Children with Different Potentialities Seymour • More mature, knows about “trading.” • Apparently a leader, but actually a follower • More consistent but less imaginative  a collector? A more disciplined artist? Leonard • Imaginative and intuitive • Not consistent •  an artist? A rolling stone?

The Characters (2): Minor Characters as Foil • The parents -- minor characters who serve as a foil(陪襯). • Their activities & concerns: the weather, hat, cooking, brushing teeth, housekeeping and sleeping • Funny picture of the father; e.g. the bike horn sounds like 'Dad‘

Form and Content –After second viewing • Image 1– The bee is noisy, isn't it? How does the film use the fly? What does Leonard imagine the noise it creates to be? Why is it a recurring image? • Image 2 -- The human images are not cute at all, aren't they? But pay close attention to how the images are made.

Form and Content together … • Children can sometimes use their five senses to respond to nature better than adults, who have more daily matters (daily routine, housekeeping, buying and collecting) to worry about.

A Story with a Message to YOU and for the Course • Have you ever been a collector? A collector of what? Have you ever listened to a sea shell? • Some people say that only children can be pure and imaginative. What do you think? How is an artist's imagination different from that of a kid? • Would you like to be a sound and sense collector in our class? What do you think you can gain from this collection?

This course selects interesting English poems, short stories (and a novel next semester) and plays for us to read and -- appreciate how literary texts convey their meanings to us through both form and content; -- understand different literary genres, their conventions and components, -- analyze different parts of a text and how they are connected to its overall meaning; and, most importantly, -- relate the knowledge and experience we have in reading English literature to our understanding of ourselves and our society.

Reading Process: Understanding (with your own ‘horizon’ 地平線)  Appreciation  Interpretation  Your Self-Understanding and horizon broadened. • It usually takes several readings to fully understand and appreciate a text. • While you read, keep your mind and hand busy—by doing annotations first and then keeping a reading journal. • Please turn to the syllabus now.

Introduction to “The Story of an Hour” (1894) –Your first responses? • “Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.” • What do you expect to read after reading this first paragraph?

2nd Paragraph • It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.

Her Responses – the Focus of this Story • She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. ( she understand what happens.) • She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.

The Story of an Hour • A story about a woman’s response to the reported death of her husband’s.

Before Next week • Finish Reading “The Story of an Hour”, • listen to the lecture and watch the discussion. (optional but highly recommended) • Try taking some notes and upload it before this Friday (optional) • Read “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” and do annotations – due this Sunday. • Listen to the lecture and watch the discussion before or after class. • Next week: a quiz on “The Story of an Hour”

Introduction to Literature