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E434: British Novel to 1900 Journal Requirement Instructions Alfred J. Drake. Office: Classroom, Thurs 6-7 / Ph: 714-434-1612 Keep a journal of your thoughts while reading each of the assigned novels. Journal entries will be due three times: in class or by email on Thursday of Weeks 6, 11, and on the day of the final exam. *Substance and length of the journals should be as follows: write down your thoughts as you read through the novel--I suggest that for each novel you should end up with at least 2-3 informal pages, double-spaced or handwritten; that would amount to something like 500-750 words for each novel. *I suggest that you either do journal entries on a word processor or handwrite them and make yourself a photocopy so you can hang onto your insights. Bring journals to class on the due dates. Staple the whole set together -- don't use clips, binders, etc. *I'll try to provide some study questions on our novels, but I don't believe I'll be able to develop a detailed set of questions for them since that's a major task when one is dealing with novels. So you're welcome to use any study questions I provide, but I encourage you to make your own reflections the basis of the journal. *The journals are worth about as much as a midterm exam would be. Cumulatively, they will count for 30% of the course grade. I don't plan to assign specific grades to each journal set (check marks for "properly done and on time" and a brief comment if there seems to be something missing would be more like it), so if you get three "checks" for your three journal sets, you've got yourself an "A" for this requirement. *Since the journals are 30% of the course grade, not doing them would make it nearly impossible to pass the class: 70% would be your maximum percentage (70% = "C") for the course, even if you were to earn an "A" on the paper and the exam. *2-3 pages informal writing isn't a lot since there's no need for revising as there would be for a formal paper, but it will help you develop your ideas for papers and keep you making connections between novels, which will benefit you on the essay-based exam. *The point of keeping a journal is to stay active as a writer and to retain your first insights about what you are reading. It's all too easy to come by a fine insight about a particular chapter or character or narrative technique--an ironic moment, a paradox, a complex situation, etc.--and then just lose it at the first interruption or with the passage of time. Many students have told me they like journal-keeping because it helps structure their reading, and encourages them to keep up with assignments and share their reflections. *This is informal writing--it doesn't have to be the Queen's English, and it doesn't have to represent your final thinking about the matters you set down. One learns by both "slow exposure" and unpredictable, exponential leaps of insight and connection-making. Expecting 100% comprehension on a first reading isn't realistic -- deep learning doesn't happen that way. Issues to Consider for Journal Writing *The novel is a “realistic” genre -- that is, most novelists try to recreate for their audience the most artistically relevant aspects of the “world” in which that audience already lives. To what extent do you think realism is the goal of the author you're currently reading? If the author adheres to realism as a basic tenet, what exactly is realistic about the author's handling of characters, events, and so forth, and to what further end is that goal pursued? If the author departs from realism, in what regard does he do so? What purpose is served by the departure? *Character and environment are both important in most novels. Which seems more important in the novel you're currently reading, and why? Further, how does your author create a character for us – does a complete sense of characters get conveyed with a few quick strokes, or does that sense develop gradually? Do the characters change, or do they remain stable from beginning to end? The same “how” question might be asked concerning events and places—how exactly does the author generate a sense of places and happenings – are we presented with a patient unfolding of details, or with bold selective strokes, or would you describe the method some other way? *The need to build up a realistic universe doesn't necessarily make novel-writing an amoral enterprise. Indeed, some novels have a pretty strong moral or “didactic” edge. Is that the case with the novel you're currently reading? If so, what kind of moral assumptions does the author work within or explore? Are we encouraged to sympathize with a certain character or social group and vilify another, etc? Is the author challenging contemporary readers or reaffirming the consensus view on a given subject or action? Do you find your current novel's moral framework convincing? Why or why not? To put this in academic terms, we might say that many novels carry out a “task”—that is, they work at influencing the culture within which they are written and either subscribe to or reject or wish to modify a value system they cannot simply ignore.
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