Monday, February 13, 2012

Your Research Paper

As I announced in class, you have been granted a reprieve. You do not need to write a response to "The Amish Farmer" for this Friday.

However, you're not completely off the hook. Instead, your assignment is to read BH 593-599 and then formulate a tentative thesis statement for your research paper. This should be an arguable statement that says something meaningful about the story or stories on which you're writing.

You research paper is due on March 7, and should be 5-7 pages. It should FOCUS on one or more of the stories from our class. If you like, you may ALLUDE to other stories by other authors. This paper will require research: you will need 5-7 secondary sources: either books or articles from a database, anthology, or journal.

Your homework, due by class time on Wednesday Feb 22, is to post your tentative thesis statement and THREE sources that you plan on using for you paper. Do not wait to the last second to do this!

Remember that there is no class on Friday Feb 17 or Monday Feb 20. Enjoy the holiday!

22 comments:

  1. Cassie Ferraro
    Thesis and Sources
    16 February 2012

    In the piece "A Poetics for Bullies" we are given an absolute example of what Aristotle believe should be incorporated into a literary work.



    "The Internet Classics Archive | Poetics by Aristotle." The Internet Classics Archive: 441 Searchable Works of Classical Literature. 1994. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. .

    Wall, John. "Phronesis, Poetics, and Moral Creativity." Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 6.3 (2003): 317-41. Springer. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. .

    Hardie, R.P. "The Poetics of Aristotle." Mind, New Series 4.15 (1895): 350-64. Oxford University Press. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. .

    ReplyDelete
  2. In life there are many ways to become successful; but most of them require some sort of degree. Well, in Richard Brautigan's short story titled "1/3, 1/3, 1/3" he proves that it is possible for anyone to write a good novel whether highly educated or not.

    Sources:

    ROOKE, LEON. "How To Write A Successful Short Story." Antioch Review 69.4 (2011): 621-631. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.


    King, Stephen. "Everything You Need To Know About Writing Successfully--In Ten Minutes." Writer 113.3 (2000): 7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.


    Hodgson, Amy R., and Gerry Bohning. "A Five-Step Guide For Developing A Writing Checklist." Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 41.2 (1997): 138. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kristina Kruse
    Professor Chappell
    ENG 106W-01
    20 February 2012
    The Affect of Grecian Myths and Philosophies on Twentieth Century American Literature:
    Tragedy, Anagnorisis, and Hubris
    Many important elements are involved in the creation of a story. Conflict, or the struggle between opposing forces in a story, is the most important element because it gives the story purpose and direction. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, developed a basis for the impression of conflict. He derived the concept of tragedy from the myths of the ancient Greeks. These ancient concepts are directly reflected in much of the short story literature of the twentieth century. In “The Ledge,” a short story written in 1959 by Lawrence Sargent Hall, the protagonist leads himself and the other characters to their deaths. In this story, Hall expresses many other Grecian philosophies developed by Aristotle in order to develop the tragedy; anagnorisis (recognition) and hubris (excessive or overweening pride) are two characteristics that are evident in a protagonist which progress the success of a tragedy.

    Works Cited
    Noyes, George R. "Aristotle And Modern Tragedy." Modern Language Notes 13.1 (1898): 6-12. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 20 Feb. 2012.
    Woodruff, Paul. "Aristotle On Character In Tragedy, Or, Who Is Creon? What Is He?." Journal Of Aesthetics & Art Criticism 67.3 (2009): 301-309. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Feb. 2012.
    Zerba, Michelle L. "Modalities Of Tragic Doubt In Homer's "Iliad," Sophocles' "Philoctetes," And Shakespeare's "Othello.." Comparative Literature 61.1 (2009): 1-25. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Feb. 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jeff Semenetz
    “A Poetics for bullies” is a strong example of the incredible power of literature and its comparability to physical strength by means of symbolism and word choice.

    ROOKE, LEON. "How To Write A Successful Short Story." Antioch Review 69.4 (2011): 621-631. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

    PIGLIA, RICARDO. "Theses On The Short Story." New Left Review 70 (2011): 63-66. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

    TEMİZKAN, Mehmet. "The Effect Of Creative Writing Activities On The Story Writing Skill." Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice 11.2 (2011): 933-939. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  5. “The Amish Farmer” as an example of metafiction

    “The Amish Farmer”, by Vance Bourjaily, is an excellent example of metafiction: a type of fiction that is self-reflectively focused on the very device of fiction. Metanarrative techniques are sometimes criticized as pointless or even destructive literary exercises. However, there are many famous examples, from Cervantes’ Don Quixote to Nabokov’s Pale Fire and Roth's My Life As a Man, in which authors successfully use metanarrative literary devices to sharpen and expand the reader’s perception. In “The Amish Farmer”, Bourjaily employs techniques frequently used in metafiction, such as embedded stories, multiple points of view, and unreliable narrators, to convey the immensely complex nature of reality as opposed to the highly subjective, stereotype-ridden perception of it by any one person.

    Works cited

    Stanzel, Franz K. A theory of narrative. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984. Print.
    Waugh, Patricia. Metafiction: the theory and practice of self-conscious fiction. New York: Methuen, 1984. Print.
    Heckard, Margaret. “Robert Coover, Metafiction, and Freedom.” Twentieth Century Literature 22.2 (May 1976): 210-227. JSTOR. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.
    Olson, Greta.”Reconsidering Unreliability: Fallible and Untrustworthy Narrators.” Narrative 11.1 (Jan. 2003): 93-109. JSTOR. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Brandon Johnson
    Professor Chappell
    ENG 106W-01
    20 February 2012

    In the short story “A Poetics for Bullies” by Stanley Elkin, he demonstrates time and time again that the people who are intelligent and the ones that have the gift of gap tend to be the ones that make the impact over the lives of other people. In other words the people that usually have the impact over societies tend to be the people that know how to use there intelligence in a positive or negative way.

    WORK CITED

    Hylarides, Peter. "The Impact Of Hitler's Refugees On British Life." Contemporary Review 283.1651 (2003): 114. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

    Damm, Alex. "Mahatma Gandhi And Character Education In Non-Violence: Its Relevance In Religious Studies Today." Teaching Theology & Religion 14.1 (2011): 3-12. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Feb. 2012
    Hatch Roger D. "Racism And Religion: The Contrasting Views Of Benjamin Mays, Malcom X And Martin Luther King, Jr." Journal Of Religious Thought 36.2 (1979): 26. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kelsey Nolan
    Professor Chappell
    EN 106W
    20 February 2012

    If a character can not change, their flaws inevitably will be their demise in the end.

    Work Cited:

    Chait, Jonathan. “Character Flaw.” New Republic, 5/7/2007, Vol. 236 Issue 15, p5-5, 1p
    Scheiber, Noam. “Character Flaw.” New Republic, 1/23/2006, Vol. 234 Issue 2, p6-6, 1p
    Yudofsky, Stuart C.; “Fatal flaws: Navigating destructive relationships with people with disorders of personality and character.” Arlington, VA, US: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., 2005. xvii, 494 pp.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bryn Landino
    Professor Chappell/Mr. Bolster
    Eng 106W
    22 February 2012


    Thesis:
    In “A Poetics for Bullies”, Stanley Elkin uses the character Push to illustrate heightened human flaws.

    Sources:
    Abbott, Andrew. “Varieties of Ignorance.” American Sociologist 41.2 (2010): 174-189. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 21 Feb. 2012

    Brown, Kate. “’Vulnerability’: Handle with Care.” Ethics & Social Welfare 5.3 (2011): 313-321. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 21 Feb. 2012

    Rauthmann, John F., and Theresa Will. “Proposing a Multidimensional Machiavellianism Conceptualization.” Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal 39.3 (2011): 391-403. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The use of names in a story can affect the reader's perspective of the character and can foreshadow the character's behavior.

    Margolin, Uri. "Naming And Believing: Practices Of The Proper Name In Narrative Fiction." Narrative 10.2 (2002): 107-127. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

    Stefan Köhler, et al. "Discriminating Famous From Fictional Names Based On Lifetime Experience: Evidence In Support Of A Signal-Detection Model Based On Finite Mixture Distributions." Journal Of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, And Cognition 38.1 (2012): 78-91. PsycARTICLES. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

    Yee, Ivy. "Names, names, - what strange creatures they are. But could we live without them?" The Social Studies 90.1 (1999): 25+. Academic OneFile. Web. 21 Feb. 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jennifer Linke
    Thesis Statement/Works cited
    February 21, 2012

    Lawrence Sargent Halls’ story, “The Ledge” is a powerful story about conflict, struggle, and tragedy between man and nature, which can be compared to classic Greek mythology.

    Works Cited
    Vandiver, Elizabeth; “Greek Heroic Mythology and the Ritual Theory of Tragedy’s Origin”: The Journal of the Comparative Drama Conference, 1991; 11: 119-25. (Journal article).
    Holland, Cecelia; “Gods and Monsters: Drake’s New Mythology.” New York Review of Science Fiction, 2011 May; 23 (9 [273]): 5. (Journal article).
    Lianeri, Alexandra; “Greek and Roman Philosophy.” pp. 473-480 IN: France, Pete; Haynes, Kenneth. The Oxford History of Literary Translation in English. Vol. 4: 1790-1900. Oxford, England: Oxford UP; 2006. Xv, 595 pp. (book article)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nick Coutant

    In Stanley Elkin’s A Poetics for Bullies, Push is able to control people through his intelligence, which is different from most other bullies.

    Atlas, Rona and Pepler, Debra. “Observations of Bullying in the Classroom.” The Journal of Educational Research (1998): 86-89. Print
    Forero, Roberto; McLellan, Lyndall; Rissel, Chris; Bauman, Adrian. “Bullying Behaviour and Psychological health among school students in New South Wales, Australia: Cross sectional survey.” British Medical Journal (1999): 344-348. Print
    Yoneyama, Shoko and Naito, Asao. “Problems with Pradigm: The School as a factor in understanding Bullying (with reference to Japan).” British Journal of Sociology of Education (2003): 315-330. Print

    ReplyDelete
  12. Stanley Elkin used the literary technique of allusion to convey deeper meanings in "A Poetics for Bullies."

    Machacek, Gregory; PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 2007 Mar; 122 (2): 522-36. (journal article)

    Glucksberg, Sam; Psychological Science , Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 146-152 Sage Publications, Inc. (May, 1991)

    Machacek, Gregory. "Allusion." PMLA 122.2 (2007): 522-536. Academic OneFile. Web. 21 Feb. 2012

    ReplyDelete
  13. Brie Brown


    Thesis: In James Baldwin's "Sunny's Blues," he shows how drugs can really affect a family.

    Sources:

    Rowe, Cynthia L. "Family Therapy for Drug Abuse: Review and Updates 2003-2010." Journal of Marital & Family Therapy. 38.1 (2012): 59-81,23. Print.

    Percy, Andrew, Maeve Thornton, and Patrick McCrystal. "The extent and nature of family alcohol and drug use: findings from the belfast youth development study." Child Abuse Review. 17.6 (2008): 371-386,16. Print.

    Robbins, Michael S., Daniel J. Feaster, Viviana E. Horigian, Marc J. Puccinelli, Craig Henderson, and Jose Szapocznik. "Therapist Adherence in Brief Strategic Family Therapy for Adolescent Drug Abusers." Journal of Cunsulting and Clinical Psychology. 79.1 (2011): 43-53. Print.

    ReplyDelete
  14. William Arndt
    Professor Chappell
    ENG 106W-01
    20 February 2012

    In Lawrence Sargent Hall's, "The Ledge" The Fisherman is a great example of how internal and external conflict have a great effect on one's character and their actions.



    Works Cited

    "External Conflict vs. Internal Conflict." In Fiction Writing. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.

    "Blog: Mel's Muse - Conflict Resolution: Relationship Psychology - And Creating Fictional Characters." Conflict Resolution: Relationship Psychology. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.

    http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=521062541

    "How to Write Conflict." Suite101.com. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nicole DeFosche
    Thesis Statement
    EN 106W
    22 February 2012

    In the short story “A Poetics for Bullies” the bully Push, is more of a verbal bully rather than a physical bully. In today’s society bullying plays a huge roll and kids all around the world are being bullied. They don’t know how to deal with it. Most of the bullying is verbal, but physical bullying is a huge issue as well. Which one has more affect on society today?

    Thesis- Is a verbal bully more powerful than a physical bully?
    Sources:
    1. Bullying Statistics: “Verbal Bullying” © 2009 Bullying Statistics - Stop Bullying, Harrassment, and Violence.
    2. Carpenter ,Deborah, with Ferguson,Christopher J., Ph.D., Verbal Bullying
    3. Journal of Adolescent HealthOctober 2009 (Vol. 45, Issue 4, Pages 323-325)

    ReplyDelete
  16. In "A Poetics for Bullies" by Stanley Elkin, Push and John's methods and motivations in their actions are linked through both their uses of positive and negative manipulation.

    1. Eisner, Manuel; van Lier, Pol; Vitaro, Frank. "Preventing
    Aggressive and Violent Behavior: Using Prevention Programs
    to Study the Role of Peer Dynamics in Maladjustment
    Problems." European Journal on Criminal Policy & Research
    13.3/4 (2007): 277-296. 20 Feb. 2012.

    2. Lochman, John E.; Phillips, Nancy C. "Experimentally
    Manipulated Change in Children's Proactive and Reactive
    Aggressive Behavior." Aggressive Behavior 29.3 (2003): 215-
    227. 20 Feb. 2012.

    3. Bosch, Joop D.; de Castro, Bram Orobio; Koops, Wilem; Slot,
    Nico W.; Veerman, Jan W. "Negative Feelings Exacerbate
    Hostile Attibutions of Intent in Highly Aggressive Boys."
    Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology 32.1
    (2003): 56-65. 20 Feb. 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ryan McDonald
    Professor Bolster
    English 106W
    2/21/12
    Thesis: Stanley Elkin’s, “A Poetics for Bullies,” we witness the protagonist Push following his own inexorable traits rather than submitting to traditional values to establish identity. In the end, “logics is nothing, desire is stronger.”
    Works Cited:
    Abbott, Andrew. “Varieties of Ignorance.” American Sociologist 41.2 (2010): 174-189. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 21 Feb. 2012
    Damm, Alex. "Mahatma Gandhi And Character Education In Non-Violence: Its Relevance In Religious Studies Today." Teaching Theology & Religion 14.1 (2011): 3-12. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Feb. 2012
    Forero, Roberto; McLellan, Lyndall; Rissel, Chris; Bauman, Adrian. “Bullying Behaviour and Psychological health among school students in New South Wales, Australia: Cross sectional survey.” British Medical Journal (1999): 344-348. Print

    ReplyDelete
  18. Karina Rodriguez
    Mr. Bolster
    English 106W

    In "A Poetics for Bullies," by Stanley Elkin, Push the main character is a childhood bully. His negative attitude towards other students reflect how growing up and being bullied can reflect you both positive and negative. You can either gain confidence to ignore the bully or be scared of the bully and let him/her torment you.
    1. Pellegrini, Anthony D. "Bullying at School." Aggressive Behavior 22.2 (1996): 150+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.
    2.Obermann, Marie-Louise. "Moral disengagement in self - reported and peer - nominated school bullying." Aggressive Behavior 37.2 (2011): 133-144. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.
    3.Bauman, Sheri. "The role of elementary school counselors in reducing school bullying." The Elementary School Journal 108.5 (2008): 362+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Mitchel Cleveland
    Professor Chappel
    English 106W
    23 February 2012
    Research Project
    Thesis- In Stanley Elkin’s “A Poetics For Bullies” we witness Push and John both manipulate other kids for their own advantages whether they be good or bad. Push manipulates to make himself feel good, but John manipulates for attention.
    1. Ragatz L, Anderson R, Fremouw W, Schwartz R. Criminal thinking patterns, aggression styles, and the psychopathic traits of late high school bullies and bully-victims. Aggressive Behavior [serial online]. March 2011;37(2):145-160. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 23, 2012.
    2. ...about confronting a bully. American School Board Journal [serial online]. July 2005;192(7):11. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 23, 2012.
    3. Rigby K. Why Do Some Children Bully at School? The Contributions of Negative Attitudes Towards Victims and the Perceived Expectations of Friends, Parents and Teachers.School Psychology International [serial online]. May 1, 2005;26(2):147-161. Available from: ERIC, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 23, 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Stephanie Sereday
    Professor Chappel
    English 106W

    In Stanley Elkin's "A Poetics for Bullies," there is supporting aspects to the belief that bullying is a timeless offense to our youth.

    1. Book Title: Bullying: Effective Strategies for Long-Term Improvement. Contributors: David Thompson - author, Tiny Arora - author, Sonia Sharp - author. Publisher: RoutledgeFalmer. Place of Publication: London. Publication Year: 2002. Page Number: iii.

    2. Book Title: Bullying: Implications for the Classroom. Contributors: Cheryl E. Sanders - editor, Gary D. Phye - editor. Publisher: Elsevier/Academic Press. Place of Publication: San Diego, CA. Publication Year: 2004. Page Number: iii.

    3. Book Title: School Bullying: Insights and Perspectives. Contributors: Peter K.Smith - editor, Sonia Sharp - editor. Publisher: Routledge. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1994. Page Number: iii.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Stephanie Sereday- Typo!February 24, 2012 at 12:16 AM

    There are*

    ReplyDelete
  22. . With faster means of communication bullying has becoming that much easier. Bullying has changed throughout generations.


    1 Hunt, Caroline, Lorna Peters, and Ronald M. Rapee. "Development Of A Measure Of The Experience Of Being Bullied In Youth." Psychological Assessment (2012): PsycARTICLES. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.


    2 M Fekkes, FIM Pijpers, AM Fredriks, T Vogels… - Pediatrics, 2006 - Am Acad Pediatrics “Do Bullied Children Get Ill, or Do Ill Children Get Bullied? A Prospective Cohort Study on the Relationship Between Bullying and Health-Related Symptoms”


    3 Raskauskas, Juliana, and Ann D. Stoltz. "Involvement In Traditional And Electronic Bullying Among Adolescents." Developmental Psychology 43.3 (2007): 564-575. PsycARTICLES. Web. 8 Mar. 2012.

    ReplyDelete