Questions for 9/17 in EN 190/190 HM

[This picture is from the 2009 production of Fences at the Huntington Theater Company in Boston.]

Good evening :)

Hope you will be able to stay out of the storm tonight!  This is good weather for reading and re-reading and writing journal entries...or for doing anything that doesn't require going out and about.

I'm glad that I was able to answer questions about the upcoming paper and that we began our discussion of Fences with such a rush of energy.  I am looking forward to Tuesday when we take a closer look at the play.

For Tuesday, please finish (or reread) Fences in our anthology.  Feel free to read any or all of the essays about August Wilson's play.

In addition, here is a link to the video we watched at the end of class today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5gvNPWSuKM&feature=related

These links are to longer versions of Eyes on the Prize, the groundbreaking PBS series from 1989:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVB2AlVpt0I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a32Uc1oP7s

I was thinking about our discussion of August Wilson's ancestry, and I realized that we ought to consider the US' "one-drop rule."  The article below explains it:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/mixed/onedrop.html

This article from Harvard Gazette may also be useful:

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/12/%E2%80%98one-drop-rule%E2%80%99-persists/

Freelance writer Brittni Danielle contemplates doing away with this concept:

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2013/07/is-it-time-to-do-away-with-the-one-drop-rule/

How might you use this information about the "one drop rule" to discuss Fences and/or August Wilson's career & body of work?  Feel free to discuss specific passages in the play. (Note where Rose discusses her family.)

How might you use information from Eyes on the Prize to discuss Fences and/or August Wilson's career & body of work?

How might you use the information about Pittsburgh that Cassandra provided to discuss Fences?

Consider the theme of community vs. isolation in Fences and the clip from Eyes on the Prize.  What might sociologist Robert D. Putnam have to say about this theme in Fences?
http://bowlingalone.com/

Erik Erikson looked at psychological development from cradle to grave.  Use the concepts outlined below to discuss Fences (or A Doll House):

http://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/erik/sum.html

Use one of the readings in the chapter on August Wilson to discuss Fences.  How did it help you understand the play in more depth?

Consider Wilson's preference for character over plot.  How does that affect his play?  How does that affect your understanding of it?

Discuss how Wilson uses dialogue in Fences to create character, convey setting, and/or create conflict and action on stage.

Discuss how Wilson uses stage directions and commentary to support his dialogue.  Where might they come into conflict with each other?

How does Wilson use contrast in Fences?  Which characters, events, and settings does he contrast?

How does Wilson use unity of place?  Why does he restrict the play to the Maxson's yard?

What do you make of the jump in time at the end?  Why do you think that Wilson does this?  Why doesn't he end the play with Cory's departure and/or Rose's agreeing to raise Raynell?

Finally, take a look at the videos at this blog entry:http://en202.blogspot.com/2013/09/from-archives-fences-death-of-salesman.html

How do they add to your understanding of the play?

I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to say!

Dr. Szlyk

(p.s.  Orlando's photographs of today's whiteboard are on MyMC.  Thank you, Orlando.  :) )