Question:
In Unit 1, you are asked to read four distinct pieces of literature: "A Rose for Emily," "Ballad of Birmingham," "Beauty," and "I Stand Here Ironing."
Initial Response: Which of the four pieces of literature that you read did you find the most engaging and why?
Some areas to reflect on could be: the story's plot, your connection to the piece, the author''s style, the dialogue. It isn''t enough to write, "I liked it, but I''m not sure why." Begin to explore what is in a story to which you connect. The "why" is the most important component in this response. Your response should be one to two paragraphs and should contain concrete text examples.
Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner was famous for his novels and short stories. His works were often sparked by ''homespun tales'' of the South that stemmed from local legends and gossip. "A Rose for Emily" is both eerie and compelling, and leaves the reader asking, "could this possibly happen?" (pages 143-151).
Faulkner, W. (2017). A rose for emily. In L. Kirszner & S. Mandell (Eds.), Portable literature: Reading, reacting, writing, 9thed (pp. 143-151). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. (Original work published 1930)
"Ballad of Birmingham" is a nonfiction reflection poem of the bombings of a church in Birmingham, Alabama. Feel free to research this event prior to reading the poem (pages 529-530).
Randall, D. (2017). Ballad of Birmingham. In L. Kirszner & S. Mandell (Eds.), Portable literature: Reading, reacting, writing, 9thed (pp. 529-530). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. (Original work published 1969)
"Beauty" is what is known as a ten-minute play (please read the blurb about ten-minute plays on page 830). Two women discover that beauty is not all it is hyped up to be (pages 830-837)
Martin, J. (2017). Beauty. In L. Kirszner & S. Mandell (Eds.), Portable literature: Reading, reacting, writing, 9thed (pp.831-837). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. (Original work published 2000)