Is it Prose Poetry? Is it Flash Fiction?

The picture above is of St. John's, Antigua, the birthplace of Jamaica Kincaid (born Elaine Cynthia Potter Richardson).  In class today, we looked at two pieces, Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" and Catfish McDaris' "The Magic Rabbit."  Are they prose poetry?  Or are they flash fiction?

Flash fiction is a short story of fewer than 1,000 words.  As Grant Faulkner points out, flash fiction "[adheres] more than any other narrative form to Hemingway’s famous iceberg dictum: only show the top 10 percent of your story, and leave the other 90 percent below water to be conjured."  In other words, it focuses on what is not there rather than what is.

Poetry, to cite the Encyclopedia Britannica's definition, "evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm."

Poets.org defines prose poetry in the following way:

Though the name of the form may appear to be a contradiction, the prose poem essentially appears as prose, but reads like poetry. In the first issue of The Prose Poem: An International Journal, editor Peter Johnson explained, “Just as black humor straddles the fine line between comedy and tragedy, so the prose poem plants one foot in prose, the other in poetry, both heels resting precariously on banana peels.”

While it lacks the line breaks associated with poetry, the prose poem maintains a poetic quality, often utilizing techniques common to poetry, such as fragmentation, compression, repetition, and rhyme. The prose poem can range in length from a few lines to several pages long, and it may explore a limitless array of styles and subjects.

On Monday, we will look at some prose poems.  Here is our reading:  

Naomi Shihab Nye's "Hammer and Nail" http://www.webdelsol.com/tpp/tpp5/tpp5_nye.html

Russell Edson's "The Canoeing" and "The Fall"

http://www.prose-poems.com/edson.html

Harryette Mullen's [Of a girl, in white]: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51719/of-a-girl-in-white

Here are some questions relevant to our flash fiction by Kincaid and McDaris.  By the way, here is a link to "A Geronimo Moon," the story I mentioned towards the end of class: https://literallystories2014.com/2015/06/18/a-geronimo-moon-by-catfish-mcdaris/

Choose one of the flash fictions (including "A Geronimo Moon").  Choose at least one element of fiction.  How does that element contribute to the flash fiction?  Choose one element of fiction that seems to be missing.  How does the absence of that element affect the story?

Now that we've discussed "Girl," and that you've read other prose poetry, is Jamaica Kincaid's piece flash fiction?  Or is it prose poetry?  Why?  Why not?

Choose a symbol in "Girl."  How does it contribute to the piece's success?

Choose a passage of language in "Girl," "The Magic Rabbit," or "A Geronimo Moon."  How does that passage of language contribute to the story's success?

Discuss the impact of listening to the author read "Girl" on your understanding of this piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHr1HYW0mKE

Is the mother in "Girl" a good mother?  Why?

Is the daughter in "Girl" a good daughter?  Why?

What do you make of the ending of "The Magic Rabbit"?

What do you make of the ending of "A Geronimo Moon"?  Why does the story end the way it does?

Why is the father killed in "A Geronimo Moon"?

Is the son in "A Geronimo Moon" a good son?  Why?

What does Catfish McDaris appear to be saying about Native American culture in "A Geronimo Moon"?  (He is part Native American, by the way.)

Chose one of the flash fictions.  Contrast and compare it to one of the traditional length stories we've read previously.

Could "Love in LA" or "Hills Like White Elephants" be flash fiction?  Why?  Why not?

Here are a few questions about the prose poems.  

What is poetic about the prose poems?  Why?

What is not poetic about the prose poems?  Why?

How are these pieces different from flash fiction?  Why?

Choose one prose poem.  Which emotion does it evoke in you?  Why?

Choose one prose poem.  Choose a passage of language in it.  How does this passage contribute to the success of the prose poem?  to the effect it makes?

Choose one prose poem.  Break it into lines.  How does doing this affect your understanding of the poem?

Read one prose poem aloud.  What is it like?  How does reading it aloud affect your understanding of it?

Discuss the prose in the prose poems.  

Have a good weekend, and see you Monday!

Finishing Up Fiction

Art by Dano

Today we finished our full-length fiction with Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado."  On Wednesday we will move on to flash fiction.  Here are the two pieces we may discuss.  The first is Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" (http://www.saginaw-twp.k12.mi.us/view/8490.pdf).  The second piece, Catfish McDaris' "The Magic Rabbit," is on Blackboard in the fiction folder. 

Let's start with a few more questions about "The Cask of Amontillado."

-- Describe Montresor as a character. Has he grown or developed over time?  Is there more to him than his desire for revenge?

-- Describe Montresor as a narrator.  Is he reliable or unreliable?  Why?

-- Describe Fortunato as a character.  Does his personality really matter in this story?  Why?  Why not?

-- Why doesn't Fortunato turn back when Montresor seems to encourage him to?

-- Choose a symbol in Poe's story.  What does it represent?

-- Where do you see foreshadowing in "The Cask of Amontillado"? 

-- Poe maintains that a literary work should build towards a single effect.  Does "The Cask of Amontillado" do this?  Should a literary work build towards a single effect?  Why?  Why not?

Prof. Valerie Arvidson's definition of a short story is as follows: On the Form of the Short Story:

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrativeformat. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas (in the 20th and 21st century sense) and novels.

A classic definition of a short story is that one should be able to read it in one sitting, a point most notably made in Edgar Allan Poe's essay "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846). Interesting to note that the idea of "one sitting", may no longer mean the same time period, in modern, faster-paced times. Other definitions place the maximum word count of the short story at anywhere from 1,000 to 9,000 words. In contemporary usage, the term short story most often refers to a work of fiction no longer than 20,000 words and no shorter than 1,000. Stories of less than 1,000 words are sometimes referred to as "short short stories",^[2] or "flash fiction."

In longer forms of fiction, stories tend to contain certain core elements of dramatic structure: exposition (the introduction of setting, situation and main characters); complication (the event that introduces the conflict); rising action, crisis (the decisive moment for the protagonist and his commitment to a course of action); climax (the point of highest interest in terms of the conflict and the point with the most action); resolution (the point when the conflict is resolved); and moral.

Because of their length, short stories may or may not follow this pattern. Some do not follow patterns at all. For example, modern short stories only occasionally have an exposition. More typical, though, is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting in the middle of the action (in medias res). As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a climax, crisis, or turning point. However, the endings of many short stories are abrupt and open and may or may not have a moral or practical lesson. As with any art forms, the exact characteristics of a short story will vary by creator.

Choose one of the short stories we've read so far.  How does it follow Prof. Arvidson's guidelines?  How does it not follow them?

Choose one of the flash fiction stories.  How does it follow Prof. Arvidson's guidelines?  How does it not follow them?

Here is Grant Faulkner's more detailed definition of flash fiction:  

Flash fiction, which is defined as being a story under 1,000 words, goes by the names of “short shorts,” “miniatures,” “sudden fiction” and “postcard fiction,” among many others. Flash communicates via caesuras and crevices. There is no asking more, no premise of comprehensiveness, because flash fiction is a form that privileges excision over agglomeration, adhering more than any other narrative form to Hemingway’s famous iceberg dictum: only show the top 10 percent of your story, and leave the other 90 percent below water to be conjured.

This form speaks to the singularity of stray moments by calling attention to the spectral blank spaces around them; it can perfectly capture the disconnections that existentially define us, whether it’s the gulf between a loved one, the natural world or God.

For more of Mr. Faulkner's thoughts on flash fiction, see this article: https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/going-long-going-short/

Choose "Girl," "The Magic Rabbit," "Hills Like White Elephants," or "Love in LA."  How does your chosen story fit Mr. Faulkner's definition?  How does it not fit?

Compare either "Girl" or "The Magic Rabbit" with a more traditional short story like "Hills Like White Elephants," "Everyday Use," or "The Red Convertible."  How are the stories similar?  How are they different?  How is flash fiction similar?  How is it different?

Choose one of the elements of fiction (plot, character, setting, narration, symbolism, theme).  How does either "Girl" or "The Magic Rabbit" manifest this element of fiction?

In your opinion, what does "Girl" or "The Magic Rabbit" leave out?

Is Quick in "The Magic Rabbit" a good person?  Why?  Why not?

Is the speaker in "Girl" a good mother?  Why?  Why not?

Why do you think that Jamaica Kincaid wrote "Girl" the way that she did?

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

After the Midterm

Today we began the second half of the semester, sampling graphic fiction (Marjane Satrapi's "The Cigarette").  After the break, we will continue with Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," an example of a horror story, and then we will move on to flash fiction and prose poetry.

Here is a link to "The Cask of Amontillado": https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/the_cask_of_amontillado.pdf

Below are some questions about Marjane Satrapi's "The Cigarette":

-- If you have read graphic fiction or manga, how does that experience help you to read "The Cigarette"?

-- How does Ms. Satrapi use images to tell her story?  Consider the size and content of a panel as well.

-- How does she use text to tell her story?  How does she use dialogue?  How does she use exposition?

-- Choose an element of fiction (character, plot, setting, symbolism, language, narration, theme, and irony/tone).  How does "The Cigarette" draw on this element?

-- What is more important in "The Cigarette"?  Words?  Images?  Why?

-- What do you make of the ending of the story?  Why?

-- Should we read more graphic fiction in ENGL 190?  Why?  Why not?

-- How does your understanding of the Middle East and/or Islam help you to read "The Cigarette"?

-- Is "The Cigarette" fiction?  Or is it a memoir?  Here are links to biographies of the author: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjane_Satrapi  https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/mar/29/biography

-- Where does the boundary between truth and fiction lie?  If you are writing a memoir, how much  fiction are you allowed?  If you are writing a novel, how closely should you follow real life, and how closely should your characters follow their real-life models?

-- Is "The Cigarette" literature?  Why?  Why not?

Here are a few questions about "The Cask of Amontillado."

-- What do you make of the ending of the story?  Why?

-- Is Montresor a reliable narrator?  Why?  Why not?

-- Why might Poe have chosen to give this story a first-person narration?

-- Should we study "The Cask of Amontillado" in ENGL 190?

-- What makes this story literary?

-- Choose an element of fiction.  How does this element shape "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Have a wonderful break, everyone!  See you on March 19!!

Midterm Study Guide

The format of the test will be as follows:

17 fill-in-the-blanks covering the works; authors, actors, & characters; and literary terms
7 multiple choice covering the works, genre, literary terms, and context
several short answer questions covering the works, genre, literary terms, and context
10 pts. extra credit drawing on your memory for detail and your opinion.

genres: drama and short story/fiction

drama -- drama (script)/theater (performance)

dialogue
stage directions
set
central idea
physical presence of the actors/casting
actors
directors

Drama --
A Doll's House (1879) -- Henrik Ibsen (Norwegian -- this is a translated play)

Nora, Helmer (Torvald), Dr. Rank, Mrs. Linde, Krogstad
Nora (Jane Fonda, Claire Bloom, Janet McTeer, Hattie Morahan)
Helmer (Anthony Hopkins, David Warner)
Dr. Rank (Ralph Richardson -- much older than Anthony Hopkins)
director (Joseph Losey, Patrick Garland, Carrie Cockrell)
setting -- Christiana (Oslo)

problem play
feminism -- feminist play or humanist play -- Ibsen said his play was not feminist
Aristotle's unity of time, plot, setting
well-made play
play about middle-class


Fences (1984)  -- August Wilson -- part of Century Cycle
setting -- Homewood, an African-American neighborhood in Pittsburgh

Troy (Denzel Washington, James Earl Jones)
Rose (Viola Davis)
Cory, Bono, Gabriel, Lyons, Raynell
director (Denzel Washington)

we do not see Alberta

follows unity of setting (in play) but not plot or time
orality -- characteristics of culture without reading or writing
Troy is illiterate
episodic
character
archetypes -- not individuals but types

short stories/fiction --
narration -- 1st person (reliable, unreliable, naive) & 3rd person (objective, omniscient, limited)
setting
plot -- flashbacks & foreshadowing
dialogue
exposition
theme
symbolism

The Red Convertible, The Necklace, Godfather Death, Love in LA, Everyday Use, Hills Like White Elephants, Coyote and Eagle Visit the Land of the Dead

folklore -- Godfather Death (German--transcribed and edited by Brothers Grimm) -- actual storyteller was female, archetypal characters (God, Devil, Death; princess is always beautiful), godson is a doctor who tries to cheat Death, orality

Coyote and Eagle Visit the Land of the Dead (Wishram/Native American) -- Coyote (trickster), Eagle (sidekick), moral, explanation of why death is in the world, orality

Coyote and Eagle Steal the Sun and the Moon (video only)

literary stories -- The Red Convertible (1984) (Louise Erdrich -- Native American heritage);  setting -- reservation after Vietnam, 1st person narrator (Lyman), Henry, Suzy (symbol), symbolism, did Henry intend to commit suicide?  Vietnam & post-traumatic stress  (Erdrich & Dorris' interview with Bill Moyers -- dark humor, patriotism, service in wartime)

The Necklace (Guy de Maupassant -- French story, translated) -- Madame & Monsieur Loisel, rich friend, class & wealth, story with a surprise ending, older story (1885) -- 3rd person limited omniscience

Love in LA (1990s) (Dagoberto Gilb -- Latino-American) -- Jake & Mariana -- 3rd person limited omniscience-- setting: LA freeway -- almost a flash fiction

Everyday Use (1973) (Alice Walker -- African-American) -- Dee, Maggie, Hakim-a-barber, and mother/narrator -- 1st person (reliable?  unreliable?) -- setting -- rural Georgia in the 1970s -- dream: use of popular culture -- symbol: quilts -- politics & character

Hills Like White Elephants (1927) -- (Ernest Hemingway -- Caucasian-American) -- couple (Jig & the American) -- 3rd person objective -- we don't see inside people -- we don't see their pasts -- man vs. woman (over the decision to have an abortion) -- setting: a restaurant/bar at a railway station in Spain -- characters are rootless)

Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants and the Midterm

Above is a picture of the Ebro River Valley, the setting of Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants."  Below is a picture of a couple from the 1920s: the actors Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.

Today we went over some of the short answer questions.  Friday we will look at more specific questions information for the fill-in-the-blanks and multiple choices.

In the meantime, here are a few questions for "Hills Like White Elephants."

-- Discuss the balance of power in this story.  Where does it fall by the end of the story?

-- Are Jig and the American round or flat characters?  Justify your answer.

-- Compare Jig and the American to another couple we've encountered so far this semester.  What does this comparison tell you about the theme of men vs. women?  Or about the theme of relationships?

-- What is your stance on abortion?  How does this affect your reading of "Hills Like White Elephants"?

-- Does the narrator in "Hills Like White Elephants" seem to judge his characters?  Why?  Why not?

-- Do you want the narrator to take sides in a story?  Why?  Why not?

-- Did Jig have an abortion or not?  Justify your reasoning.

-- Did Jig and the American stay together?  Justify your reasoning.


Let's look at a few more general questions for the short answers.  Try to add more specific information, too.

-- Compare stories in first person narration ("The Red Convertible" and "Everyday Use") to stories in third person (the folktales, "The Necklace," "Love in LA," and "Hills Like White Elephants").  Which type of narration seems more effective?  Why?

-- What role does symbolism play in plays and stories?

-- What role does foreshadowing play in plays and stories?

-- Discuss the endings of three stories and/or plays.  Why do they satisfy you?  Why do they not satisfy you?

-- Discuss the beginnings of three stories and/or plays.  Why do they intrigue you?  How do they prepare you for the rest of the story or play?  How do they not prepare you?

These questions will prepare you for the extra credit.

-- List five things you learned from keeping a journal this semester.  Why did you choose these things?

-- Learn five things you learned from class lecture and discussion.  Why did you choose these things?

-- List five characteristics of literature.  Why did you choose them?

Introducing the Midterm

Looking at this Butterick pattern from the 1970s takes me back.  Can you imagine Dee buying this pattern and sewing the "very easy" outfits?  As a comparison, here is a picture of Diana Ross and the Supremes from the 1960s, epitomizing style and glamour from the previous decade.

First of all, I have important news for everyone.  The midterm has been moved to March 5.  It will cover what we have gone over in class: A Doll's House (play, film, actors' videos), Fences (play and film), "Godfather Death" (Brothers Grimm), "Coyote and Eagle Go to the Land of the Dead" (plus video of "Coyote and Eagle Steal the Sun and the Moon"), "Love in LA," "The Necklace," "The Red Convertible" (plus Bill Moyers' interview with Louise Erdrich and Michael Dorris), "Everyday Use," and "Hills Like White Elephants." 

We will be reading "Hills Like White Elephants" for Wednesday.

The midterm journals are also due by March 5, but you may email them to me by 11:59 pm that evening.  You may use the journals to help you study for the midterm.

Here are a few questions, starting with "Everyday Use."

-- Why does the narrator mention her dream about being reunited with Dee on TV?  How does that affect the way you respond to her?  the way you respond to Dee/Wangero?  Here is a link to a color episode of This is Your Life, the TV show the narrator is referring to:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79wVETxFkSQ

-- What do you make of Dee's changing her name to Wangero?  Do you know anyone who has changed his/her birth name?  What do you make of the decision?

-- Why does Dee/Wangero want to visit her mother and sister?

-- Why does Dee/Wangero want these quilts?  Does she deserve them?  Why?  Why not?

-- Why does the narrator give the quilts to Maggie?  What do you make of her decision?  Does Maggie deserve them?  Why?  Why not?

-- What do you make of the story's ending?  Why? 

-- Here are links to two biographies of Alice Walker:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Walker  https://www.biography.com/people/alice-walker-9521939   After reading one or both, how does it affect your understanding of "Everyday Use"?  Could she be Dee?  Could she be Maggie?

Here is a link to an article on the Civil Rights Movement.  http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement  What does it add to your understanding of "Everyday Use"?  How did your reading of Fences add to your understanding of "Everyday Use"?

Here are some questions about "Hills Like White Elephants."

-- How would you describe the couple's relationship in this story?  What is he trying to get her to do?

-- This story is written in 3rd person objective.  How does this narration affect your understanding of the story?  Why don't we see the world from either the man or the woman's point of view? 

-- This story is set in Spain in the 1920s.  How does this affect the story?  How does it affect your understanding of the story?

-- What do you know about the couple in the story?

-- This story has a considerable amount of dialogue.  How does this shape the story?

Here are a few more general questions that will help you study for the midterm.  These may be your short answer questions.

-- Consider the characters we've encountered in our readings so far this semester.  Which seem round?  Which seem flat?  Why?

-- Discuss the differences between older stories (the folktales, "The Necklace," and "Hills) and newer stories ("Everyday Use," "Love in LA," and "The Red Convertible").  How have short stories changed over time?  How have they stayed the same?

-- Discuss the differences between stories written by men ("The Necklace," "Hills," and "Love in LA") and those written by women ("Everyday Use" and "The Red Convertible").  What do these stories focus on?  How are characters represented?  What seems to be missing from the stories?

-- What role does setting play in fiction?

-- What role does narration play?

-- What role does dialogue play?

-- Plot or character?  Which one do you prefer?  Why?

On to our last story before the midterm, "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway!

Important News for ENGL 190..and questions

First of all, I have important news for everyone.  The midterm has been moved to March 5.  It will cover what we have gone over in class: A Doll's House (play, film, actors' videos), Fences (play and film), "Godfather Death" (Brothers Grimm), "Coyote and Eagle Go to the Land of the Dead" (plus video of "Coyote and Eagle Steal the Sun and the Moon"), "Love in LA," "The Necklace," "The Red Convertible" (plus Bill Moyers' interview with Louise Erdrich and Michael Dorris)...and any other stories we discuss in class between now and Wednesday, February 28.

For Monday, February 26, please read "Everyday Use" and bring your book to class.

I am also posting a link to the interview with Ms. Erdrich and Mr. Dorris.  It is from one of our library's databases, so you will need to log in with your M-number to see it.

 https://montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=16705&xtid=4949

The segments we watched were "Victor-Oppressor Relationship," "Dark Humor," and "Reservation as Cultural Preservation"  "Political Situation" might have some information about Native Americans and the military.  What did the video teach you about Native American culture?  about Louise Erdrich?  How did it shed light on "The Red Convertible"? 

Where do you see dark humor in "The Red Convertible"?

Here is the definition of irony:  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irony  Where do you see it in "The Red Convertible"?  Compare Erdrich's use of irony with Guy de Maupassant's or Dagoberto Gilb's.

Why does Erdrich include the brothers' trip to Alaska in her story?

If you have studied the Vietnam War in history class or if you have family members who have served in Vietnam, what does this historical background tell you about Henry's situation?

If you've watched one of the Vietnam movies I've mentioned (Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, Hamburger Hill), how does that experience shed light on Henry's situation?  Could Ms. Erdrich have been responding to those movies?  Why?  Why not? 

Do you think that Lyman will be able to earn money again? Why?  Why not?

Find a difficult or descriptive sentence in "The Red Convertible."  How does it shed light on the story, its characters, and their world?

How do Lyman and Henry seem to relate to Native American culture as Erdrich and Dorris describe it?

On to "Everyday Use"!

Discuss the family dynamics in "Everyday Use."

Discuss the narration of "Everyday Use."  How do you respond to the narrator?  Is she reliable?  Is she unreliable?  Why?  How does she seem to feel about her daughters?  Which daughter is she most like?  Dee?  Maggie?  Neither?  Why?

How does your knowledge of African-American history and culture help you to understand "Everyday Use"?

How does your knowledge of Southern history and culture help you to understand "Everyday Use"?

Is the story fair to Dee?  Why?  Why not?

Why does Dee want her family's quilts?  Does she deserve them?  Why?  Why not?

How does Maggie respond to her sister's trying to take the quilts?  (Note that the narrator hears a door slam.)

What do you make of the end of the story?

Find a difficult or descriptive sentence in "Everyday Use."  What light does it shed on the story?  Why?

How does literature depict family dynamics so far?  Is there a tension between individuals and family members?  between family and society?

-- Do the characters in this story have agency?  Or are they limited by history and environment?  Why?  Why not?

See you and your books in class on Monday!