AMERICAN LIT II LITERATURE
DISCUSSION QUESTION
Directions: After reading the lecture, answer one of the main questions, which will appear in
red.
Your responses to other students' answers are due RIGHT AWAY. In order to get the full points,
you MUST respond to at least 6 other people's postings.
Remember: late answers receive 0 points, so post early :)
Directions: After reading the lecture, answer one of the main questions, which will appear in
red.
Points will be assigned according to the thoughtfulness of your answers and responses, not by
whether they are "right" or not, since sometimes there is no "right" answer. Just be sure your
ideas are supported by the material in the readings.
DISCUSSION 6
Hammett, The Thin Man
Just answer one of the following questions.
1. Why does Hammett include the Packer story (told in Chapter 13) in the novel? How does it
relate to the plot or theme(s) of The Thin Man?
2. The traditional mystery novel ends with all the questions answered; the good guys win and the
bad guys are punished. Is that the case in this novel? Explain, giving specific examples and direct
quotes from the novel for support.
The Thin Man initially appears to be a traditional mystery novel where the good guys
win, the bad guys lose, and everything is neatly tied up at the end of the story, but on closer
examination, we see that the story varies from that traditional style. While Nick does figure out
who the killer is and the ‘bad guys’ are either killed or found guilty, not everything in the story is
neatly closed at the end. The story is a lot more like real life than any traditional murder
mystery. Another way this story varies from a traditional mystery novel is that the characters in
the story are not cut-and-dried good or bad. Nick is clearly the protagonist and Macaulay is the
antagonist but it leaves many other characters in a gray area. Dorothy, though she is not
necessarily ‘bad’ has faults such as her promiscuity and drinking. Harrison tends to chase
“everything that’s hot and hollow” though he is married. Mimi is an angry character who takes
out her aggression on Dorothy physically.
Though the main crimes of the story are punished, there are other factors that remain
unanswered. The ‘sins’ or crimes of the world are left out there and leads the reader to wonder
what justice has been served. As Nick and Nora discuss the events at the conclusion of the
novel, the ambiguity of the resolution is seen when they talk about the fate of the others in the
story. “They’ll go on being Mini and Dorothy and Gilbert just as you and I will go being us”.
This means that Mimi will continue to be self-centered, Dorothy promiscuous, and all of them
over-indulgent and with no clear consequences for their behavior. In terms of answering most of
the questions in the story, the last chapter does this (almost too neatly) with a question-andanswer session between Nick and Nora. Nora is really the conduit for the many questions that
the reader may have at the end of the book. It offers a way to tie up loose ends but still leaves
the question of how unseemly behaviors are punished or not.
DISCUSSION 7.
Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely
Just answer one of the following questions.
1. Compare Chandler's view of the world to Hammett's. Use specific examples and direct quotes
from the novels for support.
2. Is Moose Malloy a good guy or a bad guy? Explain, using specific examples and direct quotes
from the novel for support.
3. One of the first axioms a beginning fiction writer memorizes is "Make your main character
likable." Philip Marlowe, in Farewell, My Lovely, is often anything but likable. Yet he has
become one of the best-known characters in literature. What makes him so compelling? Use
specific examples and direct quotes from the novel for support.
Phillip Marlowe is a difficult character to describe. He is not a traditional ‘likeable’
character, but something about him has made him one of the best known characters in literature.
There is something attractive about characters who are edgy. Marlowe says and does things that
most people would not dare to do. While they aren’t necessarily ‘wrong’, they are not always
nice. It is the ‘bad boy’ image and bravado that draws readers to Marlowe’s character. He is
cavalier in his speech and his mannerisms, giving him an “I don’t care” attitude that readers find
appealing. Another aspect of this character that readers are attracted to is his way with women.
The combination of his wit and his looks seem to make women swoon. Part of this seems like
seduction though there is a sleazy element to the behavior. Regardless of the situation, Marlowe
always seems to get his man…or woman.
Examples of the behavior and actions that are cavalier and yet somehow attractive
include the sarcastic remarks that Marlowe is always spitting out. These include moments like
when Marlowe is being carried up the stairs and he says, “Let me walk. I’m fine. I’m all grown
up. I go to the bathroom alone and everything.” Humor in an otherwise unfunny situation is one
of the aspects that readers like about Marlowe. He also has a determination that readers find
admirable. He doesn’t let obstacles get in the way of what he is trying to accomplish. Turned
away at the Montecito, Marlowe hires a private boat to take him through the fog even though
there is the risk of being seen by the searchlight. As Marlowe climbs “rungs probably as slippery
as a greased pole” and through a “ventilator with no grating in it”, the reader is drawn into the
dangerous situations that Marlowe faces and admires him for his sense of adventure.
DISCUSSION 8
Brooks, "The Bean Eaters"
"A Song in the Front Yard"
Roethke, "In a Dark Time"
"The Geranium"
Lowell, "Sailing Home From Rapallo"
"Epilogue"
Ginsberg, "Howl"
Plath, "Lady Lazarus"
Baraka, "A New Reality is Better than a New Movie!"
Baldwin, "Sonny's Blues"
From The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction:
--Silko, "Tony's Story," 579
--Lahiri, "A Temporary Matter," 321
--Bass, "The Hermit's Story," 22
Just answer one of the following questions.
1. Choose ONE of the poems from the list above and discuss the techniques the poet uses (word
choice, rhyme, meter, imagery, tone, etc.) to express his or her ideas.
2. Choose ONE of the poems from the list above; what influences of Modernist or earlier poetry
do you see in it? Explain.
3. Read the description of Postmodernism in Lecture 11. Then choose ONE of the short stories
from the list above. Is the story "postmodern" or not? Why? Explain, using specific examples
and direct quotes from the story for support.
4. Choose ONE of the short stories from the list above. What are the conflicts in the story? How
are the conflicts resolved (or are they resolved)? Explain, using specific examples and direct
quotes from the story for support.
Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues” has conflict that is both resolved and unresolved.
The environment and setting in which the story takes place (Harlem) is one of the main causes of
conflict. In this case, the conflict is between the environment and the characters. This is
exemplified in the passage “…they were growing up with a rush and their heads bumped
abruptly against the low ceiling of their actual possibilities. They were filled with rage.” The
conflict lies between what the characters were capable of doing with their lives and what they
were held down by because of where they grew up. Another passage described the inequality of
the world. “So, we drove along, between the green of the park and the stony, lifeless elegance of
hotels and apartment buildings, toward the vivid, killing streets of our childhood.” In some ways
Sonny was able to find resolution to this conflict through his music, though initially he took
drugs as a way to escape the environment he couldn’t control. Others were not able to resolve
the conflict and thus came the problems with the drugs and violence.
The conflict that does find resolution in the story is between the two brothers. Sonny is a
heroin addict and though he has been arrested, his brother is in denial of the situation. Sonny’s
brother said, “I didn’t want to believe that I’d ever see my brother going down, coming to
nothing, all that light in his face gone out, in the condition I’d already seen in so many.”
Eventually, the conflict is resolved when the older brother is able to understand Sonny’s
struggles when he listens to Sonny’s music. Through his music, Sonny could finally express
himself and release the pain and emotion that his life had brought to him. The notes he played
on the piano told a story of the struggles and what he feels at the end of the struggle. Lines such
as “Now these are Sonny’s blues” and “Sonny’s fingers filled the air with life, his life…”
describe the pain and the story that his music could tell. And to describe the resolution of the
conflict, “Yet there was no battle in his face now…”
DISCUSSION 9
From The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction:
--Bloom, "Silver Water," 72
--Cisneros, "Never Marry a Mexican," 109
--Desaulniers, "After Rosa Parks," 129
--Doerr, "The Caretaker," 152
--Yarbrough, "The Rest of her Life," 628
1. At the end of "Silver Water," Violet's mother says, "Warrior queens. I've raised warrior
queens." What does she mean? Explain, using specific examples and direct quotes from the story
to support your ideas.
2. In "Never Marry a Mexican," the narrator says she will never marry, that she doesn't want to
marry. Is she telling the truth? Explain, using specific examples and direct quotes from the story
to support your ideas.
3. In "After Rosa Parks," how is the idea of freedom both exhilarating and terrifying to the
characters? Explain, using specific examples and direct quotes from the story to support your
ideas.
4. In "The Caretaker," in what ways is Joseph a caretaker? Explain, using specific examples and
direct quotes from the story to support your ideas.
5. In "The Rest of Her Life," why does Dee Ann decide to lie to save her father? Explain, using
specific examples and direct quotes from the story to support your ideas.
I think the narrator of “Never Marry a Mexican” truly believes that she does not want to
marry though deep down, she longs for the stability of a caring relationship. The relationships
that the narrator’s mother had been in really poisoned the narrator’s mind with respect to
marriage. The mother told her that “she had married so young”, implying that she never had a
chance to be young. Also, she complained that “her father was so much older”. Her mother’s
infidelity as her father lay ill and dying colored the narrator’s idea of what it meant to be in a
faithful and caring relationship.
The phrase “Never marry a Mexican” could have dual meanings. In one aspect, it is the
narrator who says she will not marry a Mexican because of not wanting to be trapped in the type
of marriage that her mother was in. The other side of the phrase is that the narrator is telling her
lovers to “Never marry a Mexican” meaning he should not marry her. This becomes evident
when she says, “Besides, he could never marry me…Never marry a Mexican. Never marry a
Mexican…No, of course not. I see. I see.” The narrator seems to have put herself in situations
and relationships that are doomed. It appears that she has done this on purpose. By specifically
choosing relationships with married men, she is ensuring that she will not get married. The only
way the relationship would lead to marriage is if he leaves his wife. Now she is mimicking the
relationship her mother had when she was young, except in this case, the narrator is the one who
is cheating with a married person, instead of herself being married.
DISCUSSION 10
Auster, The Book of Illusions
OR
Frazier, Thirteen Moons
OR
Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Just answer one of the following questions.
1. In The Book of Illusions, was it right of Hector to ask Frieda to destroy his work after his
death? Was Frieda right to do it?
2. In Thirteen Moons, Charles Frazier paints a portrait of a country that is changing and growing.
Are the changes, as he portrays them, for the better, or for the worse?
3. One of the major themes of postmodern literature is the isolation of individuals, from other
individuals, from their families, and from their cultures. In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar
Wao, do you see this isolation? Explain.
In Charles Frazier’s “Thirteen Moons” though the country is changing and growing, the
past, present, and future are all connected. As Will Cooper looks back over his life as an orphan,
a lawyer, state and United States Senator, Confederate Army Colonel, and Cherokee Indian
chief. Through his life, thoughts of Claire repeat. His first encounter with Claire is when he
wins her in a card game. The next time is as lovers during their teen years. Each time, they are
torn apart by circumstances beyond their control.
Though Will seems to move from a poor orphan to Chief with landholdings and money,
the world around him is changing. Promises are not kept as the Federal government does their
best to cheat the Native Americans out of their property and retribution. Money and land is
gained and lost. Love seems to be gained and then lost as well. Though things seemed to have
not ultimately changed for the better given what Will lost during his lifetime, the fact remains
that he started out as a “bound boy” and orphan and grew to be an independent man who was a
leader.