Literature II

American
A Syllabus for G-EN255
McPherson College–Spring 2009

Course Description Course Information

A study of late 19th-century to contemporary American writers G-EN255 American Literature II
with emphasis upon the historical development of American lit- and
G-EN255L American Literature II
erature and the diverse social and ethnic contexts that produced Mohler 204
American writers. Class time is devoted to techniques of critical 8:30 - 9:20 MWF
reading, appreciation of aesthetic achievements, and mastery of 3 or 4 credit hours
wwwi.mcpherson.edu/~claryb/
literary and critical terminology. en255

Course Goals Instructor

Dr. Bruce Clary
The broadest goal of this course is to help you recognize the Mohler 201
rewards and joys of reading, thereby leading you to become a Office Hrs: 9-10 M-F
lifelong reader of literary works. Another general goal is to help Office Ph: 242.0530
Home Ph: 241.0426
you learn to read challenging texts carefully and critically—a
skill that is central to any claim to be educated. Course Web Site
http://wwwi.mcpherson.edu/
More specifically, the course objectives are to acquaint you with ~claryb/en255
authors and works that 1) represent movements and develop- Requirements Met
ments in American literature and 2) offer diverse perspectives 1) General education credit for
on America and what it means to be American and 3) to provide Humanities: Literature.
you with historical, social, and cultural contexts that will enrich 2) Language Intensive credit for
those enrolled in G-EN255L.
your understanding of the works themselves. 3) For the major or minor in
As a Language-Intensive course, G-EN255L also strives to give English.
4) 7-12 teaching certification in
students training and practice with language as a learning tool English.
and to produce more effective writers and speakers.
Required Texts
Methods Belasco and Johnson. The
It goes without saying that some lecture will be necessary, but I Bedford Anthology of
American Literature. Vol 2:
hope discussion and student writing about the readings will an- 1865-Present. Beford/St.
chor the course. Class sessions will often involve a small-group Martin’s, 2008.
activity intended to set the stage for class discussion. About once Chopin. The Awakening and
a week, you will complete a short, informal writing assignment. Selected Stories. Pocket,
As often as possible, I will use your informal writing as a stimulus 2004.
for further discussion. I not only welcome but invite and encourage Steinbeck. The Long Valley.
Penguin, 2000.
questions at any point during lecture or class discussion.

Samuel Clemens
aka Mark Twain Reading checks may not be made up–no exceptions. If you arrive
“O Lord our God, help us to to class a minute or two late, you will be allowed to complete as
tear their soldiers to bloody much of the check as you can in the remaining time. Students who
shreds with our shells; help arrive in the last minute of the reading check period will not have a
us to cover their smiling fields
check distributed to them.
with the pale forms of their
patriot dead; help us to drown
the thunder of the guns with
the shrieks of their wounded,
writhing in pain; help us to lay
waste their humble homes
with a hurricane of fire; help
us to wring the hearts of their
unoffending widows with
unavailing grief; help us to
turn them out roofless with
their little children to wander
unfriended the wastes of their
desolated land in rags and
hunger and thirst…. We ask
it, in the spirit of love, of Him
Who is the Source of Love….
Amen.”
It was believed afterward
that the man was a lunatic
because there was no sense
in what he said.
from “The War Prayer”
2 G-EN255 American Literature II
Required Learning Activities
Reading checks (40 percent). The most important learning activ-
ity in this course is the assigned reading. You will not have com-
pleted the course without reading the assigned works. Nearly every
class session will begin with a five-minute, five-point reading
check so that you may demonstrate your completion and compre-
hension of the assigned readings. The questions on these reading
checks will usually be of the complete-the-statement or fill-in-the-
blank variety. Those who have adequately read the work(s) as-
signed will be able to answer the questions readily; those who scan
the assignment may enable you to answer some of the questions
correctly; but those who have not cracked the book are unlikely to
guess any correct answers.
Informal writing (20 percent). About once a week, I will so-
licit short pieces of writing (usually a well-developed paragraph)
during class. These will ask you to comment upon some topic of
discussion during class, to compare a character or scene from one
work with those in another, to react to what you learned or found
interesting in the class session, or to explain what you still do not
adequately understand. Most often I will ask for these at the end of
a class meeting so that you may leave as you are finished and may
take more time as needed without keeping others waiting.
These in-class writing will be evaluated on a 10-point scale:
9-10 Demonstrates adequate, thoughtful engagement
with the assigned topic
8 Suggests an adequate, thoughtful engagement with
the topic
6-7 Suggests less than adequate, thoughtful engagement
with the topic
1-5 Demonstrates less than adequate, thoughtful en-
gagement with the topic
Informal writing assignments may be made up for half credit only.
Take-home exams (20 percent each). You will complete two
take-home exams, a midterm exam due on March 20 and a final
exam due May. These exams, along with guidelines for completing
them, will be distributed one week in advance of the due dates.
Late take-home exams cannot receive a grade higher than a C.
Grades
Final grades for those enrolled in G-EN255 will be calculated
as follows:
40% Reading checks
20% Informal writing
20% Midterm take-home exam
20% Final take-home exam
I award grades on the traditional scale: 91-100 = A; 81-90 = B;
71‑80 = C; 61-70 = D; and 60 or below = F.
Language-Intensive Requirements
In addition to the informal writing and speaking requirements
already incorporated into the course, those students enrolled in the
W. E. B. Du Bois
class for LI credit must also complete a formal writing and speak-
ing component. LI students will choose one author from course “Between me and the other
world there is ever an un-
reading schedule and research the work(s) assigned.
asked question: unasked
Formal writing. Students will locate, read, and write a 250-word by some through feelings of
abstract of five relevant articles or book chapters of at least 2,000 delicacy; by others through
the difficulty of rightly fram-
words. Two abstracts must be submitted and returned before you
ing it. All, nevertheless, flutter
complete the other three abstracts. Guidelines and model abstracts round it. They approach me
will be available soon on the course Web site. All five abstracts in a half hesitant sort of way,
must be submitted one class day prior to your formal presentation. eye me curiously or compas-
sionately, and then, instead
Presentation. LI students will make a formal 10-minute pre- of saying directly, How does
sentation as part of the class session scheduled for the author they it feel to be a problem? they
have researched. Guidelines and a rubric used to evaluate the pre- say, I know an excellent
colored man in my town; or,
sentations will be available soon on the course Web site.
I fought at Mechanicsville;
Grades. Grades for those enrolled in G-EN255L will be cal- or, Do not these Southern
culated as above; however, the total for the common coursework outrages make your blood
boil? At these I smile, or am
shall constitute 75 percent of the final grade for LI students, with
interested, or reduce the boil-
the abstracts and the presentation accounting for 12.5 percent each. ing to a simmer, as the occa-
sion may require. To the real
Disability Service
question, How does it feel
If you have a disability that prevents you from fully expressing to be a problem? I answer
your abilities, please contact me as soon as possible so we can seldom a word.”
discuss necessary accommodations to ensure your full participation from
and facilitate your educational opportunity. The Souls of Black Folk

Special Injunction
You are responsible for seeing that this syllabus does not interfere
with your education. You can always do more work or different
work (within reason) than the syllabus requires. Consult with me if
you wish to explore the possibilities for better adapting this course
to your needs.

G-EN255 American Literature II 3

 Preliminary Schedule of Readings
Readings are due on the day listed.
M, Feb. 2 Introduction to course
Chopin, “A Pair of Silk Stockings” (handout)
W, Feb. 4 Twain, “Cooper’s Literary Offenses” (online)
Spofford, “Circumstance” (online)
F, Feb. 6 Bedford, “Introduction” (2-39)
M, Feb. 9 Harris, “A Story of the War” (online)
Chesnutt, “Passing of Grandison” (228-42)
W, Feb. 11 Twain, “Smiley and His Jumping Frog” (61-67)
-----, “A True Story” (67-70)
-----, “A Campaign That Failed” (94-106)
Robert Frost -----, “The War Prayer” (106-09)
The figure a poem makes. It F, Feb. 13 Freeman, “A New England Nun” (202-13)
begins in delight and ends -----, “The Revolt of ‘Mother’” (online)
in wisdom. The figure is the
same as for love. No one can M, Feb. 16 Gilman, “The Yellow Wall-Paper” (251-65)
really hold that the ecstasy W, Feb. 18 Chopin, “Desirée’s Baby” (200-07)
should be static and stand -----, “A Respectable Woman” (208-13)
still in one place. It begins
in delight, it inclines to the F, Feb. 20 -----, The Awakening, Chaps. 1-14 (1-61)
impulse, it assumes direction M, Feb. 23 -----, The Awakening, Chaps. 15-25 (61-119)
with the first line laid down, it W, Feb. 25 -----, The Awakening, Chaps. 26-39 (119-78)
runs a course of lucky events,
and ends in a clarification of F, Feb. 27 James, Daisy Miller (130-51)
life–not necessarily a great M, March 2 -----, Daisy Miller (151-73)
clarification, such as sects
W, March 4 Wharton, “The Other Two” (279-95)
and cults are founded on, but
in a momentary stay against -----, “Roman Fever” (online)
confusion. F, March 6 Bierce, “Chickamauga” (122-29)
from -----, “Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge” (online)
“The Figure a Poem Makes” M, March 9 Crane, “The Open Boat” (334-53)
W, March 11 London, “The Law of Life” (388-94)
-----, “To Build a Fire” (online)
F, March 13 Cather, “A Wagner Matinée” (378-87)
Midterm Take-home Exam Distributed
M, March 16 Dunbar, poems (372-77)
Washington, “Atlanta Expo Address” (439-50)
W, March 18 Du Bois, “Souls of Black Folk” (450-70)
F, March 20 Bedford, “Introduction” (500-27)
Midterm Take-home Exam Due 5 p.m.
March 21-29 Spring Break
M, March 31 Robinson, poems (313-23)
W, April 1 Frost, poems (581-94)
F, April 3 Bedford, “Modernisms” (529-37)
Pound, poems (641-50)
Lowell, poems (575-80)
4 G-EN255 American Literature II
 M, April 6 Eliot, “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (669-76)
W, April 8 Williams, selected poems (626-40)
Stevens, selected poems (605-18)
cummings, poems (716-26)
April 10-13 Easter Break
W, April 15 Anderson, “Hands,” “Paper Pills” (857-68)
F, April 17 Hemingway, “Big Two-Hearted River” (976-92)
M, April 20 No Class
W, April 22 Johnson, “Preface” (553-54)
-----, “The Creation” (570-75)
Hughes, “The Negro Artist” (557-62)
-----, poems (752-765) William Faulkner
F, April 24 McKay, poems (704-09) The young man or woman
Brown, poems (745-52) writing today has forgotten
Cullen, poems (765-71) the problems of the human
heart in conflict with itself
M, April 27 Hurston, “Gilded Six-Bits” (880-91) which alone can make good
-----, “Sweat” (online) writing because only that is
W, April 29 Faulkner, “Barn Burning” (948-76) worth writing about, worth
the agony and the sweat. He
F, May 1 Steinbeck, The Long Valley (stories TBA)
must learn them again. He
M, May 4 -----, The Long Valley (stories TBA) must teach himself that the
W, May 6 -----, The Long Valley (stories TBA) basest of all things is to be
afraid: and, teaching himself
F, May 8 No Class that, forget it forever, leaving
M, May 11 Updike, “A & P” (1390-97) no room in his workshop for
Final Take-home Exam Distributed anything but the old verities
and truths of the heart, the
W, May 13 DeLillo, “Videotape” (1421-26) universal truths lacking which
Carver, “Are Those Actual Miles?” (1433-41) any story is ephemeral and
F, May 15 Silko, “Yellow Woman” (1472-81) doomed--love and honor and
pity and pride and compas-
W, May 20 8 a.m. Final Take-home Exam Due sion and sacrifice. Until he
does so, he labors under a
curse. He writes not of love
but of lust, of defeats in which
nobody loses anything of
value, and victories without
hope and worst of all, without
pity or compassion. His griefs
grieve on no universal bones,
leaving no scars. He writes
not of the heart but of the
glands.
from his
Nobel Prize Acceptance
Speech

G-EN255 American Literature II 5