IN-CLASS/TYPED QUESTIONS
Sept. 9, 2003 - Folks, as I said in class today, for this Thursday 9/11, instead of an In-class Question, I'd like you to do a typed At-home Question. So, compose a mini-essay (of at least a solid 1/2 page) in which you present any PASSAGE OF INTEREST that grabbed you as you read the assigned pages for Thursday in MT's TIA = pp.72-90 - Chs. XII-XIII. Comment on any scene/person/situation/... from those pages that jumped out at you and that you found particularly interesting. And briefly explain WHY it caught your attention. Thanks. KCz
Sept. 23, 2003 - Folks, for this Thursday's Typed Mini-essay, do as you did the last time: that is, pick a section/theme/... - from the assigned pages from MT's TIA: 154-174 - that grabbed/intrigued/interested you and present it in a descriptive and/or explanatory way and indicate WHY exactly you chose it. At least half a page. And we'll have a round-the-room general conversation on Thursday as we did on 9/9. Thanks. KCz
Tuesday Nov. 4, 2003 - Greetings, Folks! As I stated in class today, instead of an IN-CLASS question for this Thursday 11/6, just TYPE your usual one-page on ANYTHING of interest to you - to praise or to critique or to describe or to ... - derived from Thursday's assigned pages in MT's TIA - that is, pages 357-376 = Chs. XLVI-XLVII. Thanks. I look forward to hearing your VOICES more than my own as you share what you will have written with all of us. Also, it will be worth 5 points, and I'll double it to = 10, so that the total points-potential stays as it was originally proposed to be (135). Thanks. KCz
NOVEMBER 18, 2003 - Folks, For the last typed 5-point 1-page assignment, which was, according to the Syllabus, formally due today (but I did not emphasize that), just do the usual - that is, pick something of interest to you from MT's TIA and examine it/comment on it, and then hand in your typed reflections ANYTIME between this week and the last day of class. Thanks. KCz
In-class Question # 1:
As part of Monday's (9/23) assigned pages, you'll be reading extracts from Homer's epic poem THE ILIAD. Gloria Fiero has helpful comments on p.73. What I expect you to be prepared to reply to is a question focussed on the encounter between Achilles, the Greek warrior, and King Priam, leader of the Trojans, who has come to Ach's tent begging for the corpse of his son, Hector, the great Trojan warrior. So, when you get to p.76, lines 208-262, re/re/read them very carefully, paying attention to Achilles's "mythological" explanation as to WHY there are sorrows in the world - and to illustrate his point he uses as own father, Peleus, as well as King Priam as examples. Thus, be prepared to present Ach's explanation, using just King Priam (not King Peleus) as an illustration.
NEW QUESTION (Wed 10/9): As I explained in class today, all I am requesting this time for your next TYPED half-page to one-page is 1) that you select a brief passage from pages 212-mid257 in TIA - a scene or a dialogue or ... - that strikes you as FUNNY/HUMOROUS/WITTY and summarize it, and then 2) explain WHY you consider it to be FUNNY/HUMOROUS/WITTY. I guarantee that you will find at least 1 section in those pages that we can all agree, together with Mark Twain, is worth a chuckle, loud or silent. Due this Friday 10/11 in class. 5 points.
NEW QUESTION for Friday 11/8: As I explained in class today, all I am requesting this time for your TYPED half-page to one-page composition is one of the following two options: working anywhere in TIA between pages 334 (Ch.44) & 381 (Ch.48) EITHER pick any passage/section dealing with a Biblical matter (which could be related to St. Paul or to Jesus or to an Old Testament subject) which interests you, and summarize what MT tells us, and briefly explain WHY you chose that topic; OR pick any particularly descriptive (= vivid and imagistic) passage - of a landscape or of a group of people or of a lake or of a city (Damascus) or ... - which grabbed your imagination - which appeared to your mind's eye to be especially PICTURESQUE - and summarize what MT tells us, and briefly explain WHY you chose that topic. Due this Friday in class @ 5 points.
**************************************************************
For your PART V of the Final Exam: It will be a Take-home Essay-question to be typed - 2-page range - @ 8 points, due by the day of our Final Exam - TUESDAY 12/17 3-5 p.m. Choose 1 out of the 3 following subjects all based upon Mark Twain's TIA. They focus on MT's experiences in 1) Czarist Russia, 2) the Holy Land: Jerusalem, and 3) Egypt: the Pyramids & the Sphinx.
****** TAKE NOTE: For the Final Exam in class, I will include one (1) obligatory Paragraph Answer in PART I based on MT's "Conclusion" to TIA on pp.488-91. So, reread attentively MT's retrospective remarks written one year after the famous transatlantic pilgrimage.
Now, as for the 8-points essay-topics:
1) Working just with pages mid290from "A committee ..." to mid293 up to "... as ever." + mid295 from "The Grand Duke's ..." to 296 up to "... be doubted." compose an essay in which you present MT's thoughts/observations about 1) the Emperor (Czar) of Russia as a real person of royalty (not a theatrical character), and 2) his fellow Americans' behavior and attitude/feelings regarding their encounter with the Czar and his family.
2) Working just with pages mid422 from "The next place ..." to mid426 up to "... of no consequence." compose an essay in which you present what MT tells us, when visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, about the historic role and experiences (= the contributions) of St. Helena, Emperor Constantine's mother.
3) Working just with pages mid465 from "At the distance ..." to bottom465 up to "... be understood." + 467 from "On the one hand ..." to "... them afterward." + top471 from "Still, that ..." to bottom472 up to " ... seems probable." compose an essay in which you present MT's thoughts/observations on the Pyramids & the Sphinx at Gizeh (Giza), especially his somewhat philosophical reflections on what the Sphinx symbolizes.