Topic: Introducing Our Thematic Frameworks
https://fiu.instructure.com/courses/143558/discussion_topics/1618168 1/3
This is a graded discussion: 100 points possible due Oct 21
Introducing Our Thematic Frameworks Michael Grafals
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Due Date Your initial post and response post to a peer are due by midnight on Friday (by 11:59 PM) . You must write at least 600 words and your response to a peer should be at least 150 words.
Guidelines Avoid Plot Summary
Part of mastering college-level literary analysis is avoiding a response that focuses on summarizing the plot. Since you are writing to an audience that has already read the story, a focus on plot summary is not necessary.
Analyze Evidence Instead of relying on plot summary you will support your interpretation by using and analyzing textual evidence. When you quote the story make sure you cite the page number: for instance, after the quotation put the page number in parenthesis (60). Avoid writing out “on page 60”. When you quote a passage from the story make sure you analyze the context and meaning of what you quoted.
Title Your Post After you finish writing your response make sure to write an original title that captures the main idea(s) you are focusing on. You want to avoid having a generic title like ‘Discussion of Thematic Frameworks’.
DO NOT SUBMIT A BLANK POST Plagiarism in this course, whether the taking of information from the internet without citing the source or taking from the writings of your peers, will result in a failing grade in the course. In order to avoid plagiarizing from your peers, I have set up discussions so that you can only see the responses of your fellow peers after you submit your response. If you submit a blank post and then
10/19/22, 12:44 AM Topic: Introducing Our Thematic Frameworks
https://fiu.instructure.com/courses/143558/discussion_topics/1618168 2/3
post a response immediately afterwards I will assume you are taking information from your peers. You will not get credit on the assignment if you submit a blank post.
Focus on the Following in Your Response Using Textual Evidence and Analysis
Disclaimer: Please be aware that the aim of your initial discussion post is to touch on each of the prompts/questions listed below. How you choose to order and frame your response is entirely up to you. You need not answer each of the questions within each prompt in full detail—but do touch on each prompt overall. Divide your argument into 2-3 paragraphs as opposed to a single block of text, and please do not exceed 1100 words. Do not number your responses and cite your sources appropriately with MLA in-text citations and page numbers. Likewise, please do not forget to respond to at least one peer for full credit.
1. To Be Self-Conscious: In the excerpts you read from The Diary of Anne Frank, Frank describes her sense of self-consciousness: “I can watch myself and my actions, just like an outsider. The Anne of every day I can face entirely without prejudice, without making excuses for her, and watch what’s good and what’s bad about her. This ‘self-consciousness’ haunts me, and every time I open my mouth I know as soon as I’ve spoken whether ‘that ought to have been different’ or ‘that was right as it was’” (Frank 217). How does Frank’s understanding of her own self- consciousness here and in other parts of the excerpts compare with the definition you might have had prior to reading the text? How does it compare with the self-conscious feelings experienced by the narrators in “Sonny’s Blues” or in “The Child Hero’s Lament”?
2. Anagnôrisis and Other Greek Concepts: In On Poetics (the first known work of literary theory) Aristotle focuses on the concept of self-consciousness in tragic narratives through his use of the term anagnôrisis—its translation being “recognition” (Aristotle 22). Consider Aristotle’s discussion of the importance of “recognition,” “entanglements” (desis) “reversal” (peripeteia) and other Greek concepts in his theory of narrative. How might these terms apply beyond their use in a tragic narrative? When might these terms take place in “The Child Hero’s Lament” or in “Sonny’s Blues”? (Don’t forget to read Seth Benardete and Michael Davis’ footnotes!)
3. “Nothing is a One”: Aristotle suggests that a narrative can never truly account for a single person because that single person is connected to a multitude of others, each with their own stories (Aristotle 25). How do you see this at work in any one of the three narratives you read (Frank’s diary, “Sonny’s Blues” or “The Child Hero’s Lament”)? What does the interconnected nature of these narratives suggest about the development of one’s own self-consciousness?
4. What is the Poetics Really About?: Often when students consider Aristotle’s Poetics they take his work to be a literal how-to guide on how narratives ought to function—for instance, they focus on his description of the three-act story structure with a beginning, middle and end, how virtue is rewarded while wickedness is condemned, the various proper rules of a good tragedy, etc. However, how might you look at Aristotle’s Poetics as a philosophical consideration of the
10/19/22, 12:44 AM Topic: Introducing Our Thematic Frameworks
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relationship between human action, narrative, and self-consciousness? Consider Aris’ own frustration with the SWBAT (Students Will Be Able To) portion of her lesson plan (Acevedo 70). Can you quantify self-consciousness as a specific “skill” to be learned in a lesson?
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