Robinson, "Miniver Cheevy"
"Modernities"
Frost, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"
"Acquainted With the Night"
Eliot, "The Burial of the Dead" from The Wasteland
Stevens, "The Idea of Order at Key West"
"Sunday Morning"
Williams, "A Sort of a Song"
"Tract"
Hughes, "Let America Be America Again"
"Dream Variations"
Anderson, "The Book of the Grotesque" from Winesburg, Ohio
"Mother" from Winesburg, Ohio
Faulkner, "Centaur in Brass"
Hemingway, "Soldiers Home"
Parker, "You Were Perfectly Fine"
Directions: After reading the lecture, answer one of the questions below. This answer is due no later than Thursday, March 16.
A well thought out answer will probably be two or three substantial paragraphs (250-350 words on average).
Your responses to other students' answers are due by midnight on Sunday, March 19. Remember: in order to get the full 20 points, you MUST respond thoughtfully to at least 2 other people's postings.
This set of discussion questions is worth a possible 20 points. Late answers receive 0 points, so post early :)
More details, with sample questions and answers, can be found on the Discussion Board itself, under the heading "Info on Discussion Questions." Please read this carefully so you know how to get the most points for the discussions.
We will be using the Canvas Discussion Board for this class. Click on the link below to get to the LACCD portal, sign in, and then click on the link for Canvas in the right column. This will take you to the Canvas dashboard. From there, click on the square with the name of our class. Once you've entered the class, you will find the "Discussions" link on the left side of the screen:
Just answer one of the following questions.
1. Is Frost a "Modern" poet? Explain why or why not, using specific examples and quotes from the poems for support.
2. Is Hughes a "Modern" poet? Explain why or why not, using specific examples and quotes from the poems for support.
3. Is Robinson a "Modern" poet? Explain why or why not, using specific examples and quotes from the poems for support.
4. One of the characteristics of Modern poetry is its assumption that past traditions and values are useless to the modern world. Choose any ONE of the poems we read by Eliot, Stevens, or Williams, and explain how this idea is expressed in that poem.
5. One of the characteristics of Modern fiction is its depiction of the world as a place in which the individual is isolated from any meaningful connection with other people. Choose any ONE of the stories we read by Anderson, Hemingway, Faulkner, or Parker, and explain whether or not you see this idea expressed in that story.
6. Many critics claim that, even at its darkest, Modern American fiction is not hopeless--that it does allow its characters to find a way to live with meaning in a meaningless world. Choose any ONE of the stories we read by Anderson, Hemingway, Faulkner, or Parker, and explain whether or not you see this idea expressed in that story.
For further information on these works, see the Links page.