1. Choose a text that you think you'll write about for Paper #1. You CAN change your mind, but ideally, you'll analyze here what you'll turn into the draft of the first paper.
2. Do as much analysis as you can from either a New Critical or Reader-Response perspective, whichever you plan to use for your paper.
3. No right or wrong way to approach this -- try a thesis statement; analyze various passages, choose several aspects of the critical method to approach (i.e., deal with paradox and ambiguities in a New Critical analysis or deal with gaps and textual codes or signals for Reader Response.)
4. No assigned length. Be thorough and thoughtful. The more you write, the more feedback you'll have to apply toward the paper.
5. This will be a longer, perhaps more in-depth post than the first, so I've decided you need only respond to this one question. You should then response to at least one other student's analysis (and do so thoroughly). I urge you to read multiple responses, though -- you'd be surprised at how much you'll learn from reading the myriad approaches to these texts.
I'm very much looking forward to reading these!
New Criticism
ReplyDeleteHemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" has two main characters who are never truly revealed. The antagonist is "The American," and the female protagonist is called, "Jig," only mentioned a couple times in the story. The setting is at a train station next to the Ebro River in Spain where the landscape is dry with white hills and it's hot. They both have a couple rounds of beer which is served by a waitress and Anis Del Toro, a drink that Jig compared to absinthe while waiting for a train ride to Madrid where the operation will take place. The author keeps the readers guessing with a vague nature of the story for the characters don't directly come forth with what they are talking about. Applying personal experiences, it sounds as if the two characters are preparing for an abortion, hence "the operation" that they are going to have in Madrid.
The antagonist, the American, is disconnected from his girlfriend not listening to her or giving any effort in trying to understand her. Jig is easily persuaded, sounding confused and indecisive about keeping the baby. But, The American talks to Jig influencing her and reassuring her that it's the right thing to do and simple. "I know you wouldn't mind it, Jig. It's really not anything. It's just to let the air in." Tension begins to build at this point when Jig begins to question the Americans reassurance indicating that everything will be better after the operation. The very title is a form of symbolism. "Hills Like White Elephants." A white elephant is defined as a valuable possession that is a burden and something that it's owner cannot dispose of because of its worth. Like a baby. The entire story is set at a train station with railroad tracks that symbolize the crossroads in their relationship. Jig also comments on the hills being beautiful but brown and dry which symbolize life and death. The name Jig symbolizes the lady dancing around the idea of the abortion, being indecisive in whether or not to have it. The waitress doesn't speak English so Jig is dependent on the American to communicate as reflective to their relationship where Jig is dependent on the American. He makes the decision whether or not to keep the baby. "Then I'll do it. Because I don't care about me."
This is what I have so far...pretty much the base but I still have a lot more to add including the conflict, tension, etc. And going further into detail with it all.