UNIT 5 INSTRUCTIONS
HOME
Green Zone (May 15-May 28): Essays turned in during this time
period will receive comments and 10% extra credit. All discussion messages must
be posted to the Discussion Forum during this time period to receive credit. If
you want response to your Outline before you write the essay, you must post it
to the Discussion Forum during this period. Try to do your work within this
time period as much as possible to get the most out of this class.
Yellow Zone (May 29-June 1): Essays turned in during this time
period will receive feedback and full credit. Nothing posted to the Discussion
Forum from this point onward will receive credit or feedback.At
this time, submit the collection of all Discussion Messages you wrote for this
Unit to me via the Homework Submission Page. Try never to submit your essay
later than this period, as doing so puts your grade in jeopardy.
Red Zone (June 2-4): Essays turned in during this time period
will not receive any feedback, making it unlikely that you will improve your
writing or raise your grade. If you didn't already do so, submit the collection
of all Discussion Messages you wrote for this Unit to me via the Homework
Submission Page. Try to use this time period only for true emergencies, and do
NOT make a habit of turning your essays in during this period.
Since I am not monitoring your performance
on the online exercises, they can be done during any "zone."
Technically, the same is true of the readings and lectures, but the reality is
that you'll need to have read most of these before you can successfully do the
Forum messages and essay.
Textbook Readings
Early in this Unit, you need to finish
reading one of the three optional novels for this class: The Naked Sun, The Little Girl and the Cigarette or The
Handmaid's Tale.
On-line Lectures
Commas
This is a
problematic concept and one that seems to minor to worry about, but the truth
is that misusing commas can seriously impede people from understanding your
writing. In some cases, it can even cause people to draw the opposite meaning
from what you intended. It's worth the trouble to work on them.
Any time we set down
a comma there is always a rule that tells us to. It isn't done just because it
feels like it's time for one or because you "took a breath when you were
thinking it." Explore the explanations at Capital
Community College and Purdue
and try their exercises on your own. Pay special attention to their
advice on when NOT to use a comma. And for your last essay, make sure you
can justify each and every comma you set down.
Exercises
The following
exercises are required: #316,
#727,
#177,
and #391.
Discussion Forum
Posting Discussion Messages (Required)
Please follow the details of these directions to avoid a messy
forum!
Find the section that corresponds to the novel you chose to
read.
- Only start or participate in
message threads that are directly based on one of the approved questions
listed just below. Each thread should be about one question,
exactly as it is asked. Do not make up your own questions or talk
about anything except the one question that each thread is devoted to.
- Before writing a post, make
sure that nobody else has already started a thread on that question. If
they have, don't start a second thread for it (I'll delete it), but
instead write a reply to one of the earlier students who has already
posted on the thread.
- If you are the first to post
a thread on a given question, you must begin your message by copying out
the question completely and correctly. ALSO, you must put the correct
entry into the subject line of the message, as follows: the last name of
the author who wrote the textbook article (only), a space, and the number
of the question you're answering. For example, "Milgram
5."
- If you're not the first to
post on a question, READ ALL the earlier posts in the existing thread to
make sure you're not repeating what someone else already said. If you
can't think of anything new to say, don't write on that question. Messages
that just recap what someone else said get deleted.
- It's fine to jump onto a
thread that already has many messages on it, as long as you are
contributing something new.
- It's more than okay to engage
in a debate with one or more students and to post multiple replies to the
same thread in which you continue the debate, ALWAYS ASSUMING that you
follow basic rules of etiquette for the Internet and the College: use a
respectful, professional tone free of personal insults or offensive
language.
If you are the first to start a new thread on a topic,
use the heading in italics as your subject line. For example, if you're the
first to write about the Moira topic, use "Moira" as the subject
line.
Approved
Topics for Discussion of Atwood's novel:
Reality. Atwood has said that all the elements of her
fictional world have their basis in reality. Write a paragraph identifying one
or more laws, customs, or situations of the novel and explaining what situation
in reality it corresponds to (only use references to the United States, not to
any other nation).
Moira. What issue is Atwood trying to raise
through the character of Moira? What issues does this character expose, and how
could her story be seen as a critique of existing conditions or a call for
change either in this country or others regarding women's situation?
Aunt Lydia. What issue is Atwood trying to raise through the
character of Aunt Lydia ? What issues does
this character expose, and how could her story be seen as a critique of
existing conditions or a call for change either in this country or others
regarding women's situation?
Religion. What exactly is Atwood saying about religion?
What does she see religion doing in Gilead
that could be seen as similar to what it does in our world? Can your answer
help account for various facts throughout the book, such as the fact that the
Bible is kept under guard?
Unwomen.
Atwood claims that all the novel's phenomena have their counterpart in the real
world. What was she thinking of when she came up with the concept of unwomen and of unbabies? What
issues in the real world might have inspired these ideas?
Advantages. The advantages of Gileadean society for the powerful are obvious, but for the
Handmaids less so. The Aunts try to tell the Handmaids that there is
always give and take, and that for every freedom they have lost, they have
gained freedom FROM some form of persecution. Write a paragraph that adds to
(not repeats) this observation by pointing out the advantages for the Handmaids
of living in such a society. What fears that plague women in our world are the
Handmaids free from?
Scrabble. Reread the portion wherein the Commander forces
Offred to play Scrabble with him. What is this all
about? Why does he want her to play, and what observation about human nature is
Atwood trying to make through this episode?
Click here now to
go to the Discussion Forum.
Questions
for Discussion of Dutreutre's novel:
For those posting about this novel, each
person should start their own new thread and give it whatever subject line
desired. Since the essay requires you to find news stories that are related to
issues that come up in Dutreutre’s novel, this
forum’s purpose is to figure out what the issues of Dutreutre’s
novel are. Rather than ask you specific questions, I want you to identify a
specific passage or moment from the novel and write a paragraph explaining what
issue you think Dutreutre is satirizing from our own
society. Try to give suggestions for specific news stories or ongoing
developments that might relate to the issue you chose. As an example, I’ll pick
one of the most obvious (which means none of you can use this one!).
Example: The narrator
of Dutreutre’s novel has his world turned upside-down
because of an untrue accusation by a little girl that nobody will disbelieve.
This relates to a very specific issue of false accusations by young children
that has become a real problem in the U.S. and elsewhere. Teachers have been
accused of molestation for something so simple as a
pat on the head, and those who work with children are afraid to accompany them
to the bathroom. And so on….
You’re responsible for reading all previous
messages and being sure not to write on the same subject (including the example
given). This is another incentive to post early!
Click here now
to go to the Discussion Forum.
Questions for Discussion of Asimov:
o Klorissa. In The Naked Sun, Klorissa says that the people of Solaria experience no
material wants, no disease, and no jealousy. She concludes from this that
there is no reason to kill. However, the novel proves her wrong. The
issue Asimov argues here is that you cannot get rid of motives to kill. Write a
paragraph providing a few instances from the novel to show
what motives remain. (Note: In this sentence, “material wants” means
“shortage of material things.” It doesn’t mean “desire for material
things.”)
o Robots. In each novel Asimov
wrote, the division between humans and robots becomes thinner. Asimov’s
issue may be either that humans are losing their humanity
and becoming mechanical, or that robots are gaining, or maybe that there never
was any real difference in the first place? Write a paragraph that shows
one or more of these arguments being developed in Asimov’s novel.
o Problems. One could say that
the whole novel is about the issue of how solving one set of problems always
leads to new ones. Write a paragraph demonstrating the truth of this
claim, indicating how each attempt by Solaria to cure an Earthly problem led to
a new problem of their own.
o Rights. One could also say
that the central issue of the novel is that Baley
needs to overcome his fundamental contempt for robots and view them as “people
too.” Is this ridiculous? If we come to a point where beings such
as robots exist, what arguments can we use to assert that humans are more
important, no matter how intelligent the robots become? Write an argument
paragraph persuading your readers that human life is always more important than
robotic life using examples from Asimov’s book to support your points. Or,
write a paragraph showing how Asimov is building a strong case that robots
lives are as valuable as those of people.
o Criticism. Presumably Asimov
intended us to criticize Solaria, and by extension, to criticize certain
similar issues in our own world. What exactly is he criticizing?
Write a paragraph trying to establish exactly what elements of this fictional
world (and by implication, our own) Asimov is attacking.
o Technology. All agree that a
central issue of this novel is technology, but some feel Asimov is in favor of
it (in love with it) and others feel that he’s warning against it? Which
is it? Write a paragraph that argues your response with proof from the novel.
o Inefficiency and reality. A theory known as McDonaldization (invented by George Ritzer)
argues that our world is becoming increasingly efficient, conformist,
predictable, and dehumanized. Asimov seems to pick up on this issue by
portraying Solaria as a highly McDonaldized world.
Write a paragraph that establishes the truth of this claim (google
“McDonaldization” if you want more information on the
concept).
o Women. Is it possible that
Asimov wanted to tackle women’s issues through his portrayal of Gladia? Write a paragraph that examines the extent to which
Gladia does or doesn’t seem like what we consider a
modern woman to be.
o Future. Asimov wrote, among
other things, as a prophet. That is, he was predicting things would come to
pass. Write a paragraph in which you argue that recent trends suggest
that we are becoming either more like or unlike Solaria and in what ways.
Posting an Outline (Optional)
You have the option to post an outline for
the essay that you'll be writing so that I can give you feedback before you get
too far into the writing process. Like anything else posted to the forum, it
must be posted during the Green Zone. I will respond as quickly as possible,
but you should expect that it may take me a couple of days. Just as
importantly, I will only respond to Outlines that follow the directions given
in all previous Units.
Click here now to
go to the Discussion Forum.
o
Essay
Your essay for Unit 5 is to identify several
issues (preferably three) that you believe either Asimov,
Atwood or Dutreutre is raising in their novel and
show how a number of current events (one or two per issue) in America relate to
that issue. To give an example, you might say that Dutreutre’s
novel raises the issue of children falsely accusing adults of sexual
molestation and then relate one or two news stories where that (or something
similar) has occurred. However, since I just used this
issue as an example, you’re not allowed to use it in your essay. I’ll
give you a second, made-up example. You could say that Atwood raises the issue
of celebrities being more important for their personal lives than for their
work and then discuss various news stories where this can be seen (e.g., Paris
Hilton).
To structure the essay, identify an important
issue that you think the novel (either Atwood’s,
Asimov's or Dutreutre’s) is arguing to its readers.
Then find one or two current or fairly recent (within 5 years) events that
serve as examples of that issue and devote a main body paragraph to each of
those aspects. Essentially, your essay is proving that the author’s book
focuses on an issue that is relevant to things happening today. Your essay must
focus on events and situations in the United States. They can have effects that
"spill over" into or affect other nations, but they mus be centered on the U.S.
Your essay should be
primarily about the novel and only secondarily about the events you research.
In other words, most of your essay should be spent showing how the novel
centers on the issue you say it does, and what the author's position is. The recommended structure is that
each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that identifies the issue
that author x was concerned with. Then call attention to the specific incidents
and passages in the novel that show the issue being raised. Be sure to make
clear what the author’s position was on this issue. If the
author was ambivalent and showed arguments on more than one side, explain how
this is so. Then either at the end of the paragraph or in a new paragraph, make a transition that explains that this issue
also exists in recent news and give your examples.
You will
then repeat this process for the other issues you want to discuss. Try to find
three separate issues rather than write your whole essay about one particular
issue. Look to the extra credit discussion forums for ideas about what these
issues might be.
To submit the essay, visit the Homework Submission Page and follow the same procedure that
you did for Essay 1. As always, if problems arise, let me know.
Remember that if you realistically expect
your grades and writing to improve, you must turn your essays in during the
Green Zone so that you can benefit from extensive feedback. Waiting for the Red
Zone and obtaining no feedback at all, in contrast, drastically decreases your
probability of passing the course.