Good evening :)
I'm glad we were able to have such a lively discussion of "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" today. Although we will continue with fiction after the midterm, today's discussion was a great place to stop. Tuesday Ellen Vartanoff will come to our class to speak about graphic fiction. She is a cartoonist and has taught cartooning for many years. She will look at graphic fiction from the viewpoint of visual culture.
With that in mind, the reading for Tuesday will be “Superman and Me,” the excerpt from Maus, and “I Am Not Batman” as well as “The Man to Send Clouds,” “Cigarettes,” "Here," and “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings.” Note that not all readings are graphic fiction and that not all readings are fiction.
Next are links to various songs from the 1960s, including some by Bob Dylan (the dedicatee of Ms. Oates' story). In fact, we will start with some early Bob Dylan:
Having listened to these songs, why do you think that Oates dedicated her story to Dylan? (Note that she is three years older than he is.) How do these songs help you understand her story, Connie, and Arnold?
Or you may be interested in listening to one of these interviews:
What do they tell you about Dylan's persona--and Arnold Friend?
And here are some more conventional songs from the 1960s:
Enough! But what do these songs tell you about the era when Oates wrote her story? What do they tell you about Connie's "trashy daydreams"?
Here are scenes from the movie version of "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" starring Laura Dern:
Roger Ebert's review is here: http://www.rogerebert.com/
What do you think happens to Connie after the story ends? Why? Here is a different point of view:
Let's move on to our readings for Tuesday:
-- Choose one piece of graphic fiction and discuss it as a literary work.
-- Choose one piece of graphic fiction and discuss its visual elements.
-- How do our anthology's pieces compare to other graphic fiction you've read?
-- What appear to be the strengths and weaknesses of graphic fiction?
-- What would you like to ask Ms. Vartanoff?
-- Choose an element of fiction and examine how both it is used in both graphic fiction and textual fiction.
-- How do you feel about Maus' use of animal characters? Why?
-- What do you make of the jumps back and forth in "Here"? What is this piece about?
-- What does Batman mean to the characters in "I Am Not Batman"? What does he mean to you? Why?
-- What does Superman mean to Sherman Alexie's younger self? to his older self? What does he mean to you?
-- Choose an element of fiction and examine how it is used in the fiction I've assigned for the weekend.
-- How is flash fiction different from other fiction? How is it similar? Why?
-- How is graphic fiction different from other fiction? How is it similar? Why?
-- Must stories be realistic? Why? Why not? Discuss your reactions to less realistic stories.
I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing what you have to say!
Dr. Szlyk
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