The Novel

ENG 353G // Sec. 1
Credit: 3 Hours / CHPL 232
Spring 2000/ M-W-F.

Time: 3:00 - 4:00

Course Description:

The purpose of ENG 353G, The Novel, is to expose students to the nature of the genre by reading a selection of works and in class discussions analyze them through textual criticism, historical elements and critical theory.  The class is based on the "study of representative English, American, and continental novels. Prerequisite: ENG153G. (Research Writing)" (1999-2000 MVNC Catalog 152)

Power Point on Writing a Literary Paper

Class Procedure:

ENG 153G, The Novel, will meet three times a week to discuss the nature of the novel using the below reading list as raw material as well as a series of handouts to be dispersed during the semester. Discussions will center around the nature of book-long fiction, some of its techniques, innovations and its use as a vehicle for truth by the artists.

The following reading list is not exclusive and, in fact, several important works (probably including some of your favorites) have been excluded. This class can only function as an introduction, not an exhaustive study.

Students will be expected to keep an on-going journal of their responses to both the reading and the class discussion. Specific details from the readings will be quizzed on through a series of tests. There will also be a mid-term and final which will include essays. Furthermore, each student will be involved in a Writing Project (30%) composed from a series of assignments all leading up to a major literary paper handed in towards the end of the semester on some element within the study of the genre.

Class Objectives:

1. To develop in students the ability to listen receptively, think critically, reason clearly, evaluate objectively, and communicate clearly.
2. To encourage students toward acquiring attitudes which stimulate awareness of self and environment, enabling them to respond creatively and positively to the various perspectives represented in the novels included in this course.
3. To encourage students toward the maximum development of communication skills and abilities both through experience from reading and in discussing and writing about the novels.
4. To promote within students the vision and ability to apply communication skills and knowledge to enhance personal relationships, human society and God's kingdom.
5. To enable students to improve written communications through directed experience.
6. To develop in students the skills needed to enjoy and evaluate creative writing without the assistance of a critical history.
7. To acquire a knowledge of the assigned content matter.

One Loose-leaf Notebook divided into three (3) parts

A-Handouts, B- Class notes, C-Journal

• 91 to 100 is an "A" Exceptional! A cut above--unusually good.
• 81 to 90 is a "B" Well Done! A fine Job! (Note: a 90 is still a B)
• 71 to 80 is a "C" Good, a concrete understanding of the subject
• 60 to 70 is a "D" Passing but weak
• 59 and below is an "F" Fell short of required understanding of material

• Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe [E-text available]
• Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding [E-text available] 
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen [E-text available]
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte [E-text available]
• David Copperfield by Charles Dickens [E-text available]
• Moby Dick by Herman Melville [E-text available]
• To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
• Grass Dancer by Susan Power
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

• A Contemporary Guide to Literary Terms by Baron and Hudson
• A Quick Analysis of The Novel by by  Anthony Burgess (Handout) with selections in its appendix from
• Don Quixote by Cervantes
• Pamela by Richardson

Each student must produce four typed writing exercises which will lead to a typed final paper done in the MLA format covered in ENG153. The combination of these assignments will be used to give the grade for the Writing Project. (30%). Throughout the semester there will be a series of tests based on details from the assigned readings and class events (10%). There will be a mid-term (20%) and a final (20%) both of which will include essay questions. Finally, students will also maintain an on-going journal (20%).

• Journal 20%
• Writing Project 30%
• Tests 10%
• Mid-term 20%
• Final 20%

Your journal is IMPORTANT! You should write in it at least three (3) times a week. It is your personal repository for what you think about the works you are reading and about the material being covered in class.

I    Why a Journal?

The very act of writing about a work is a process which forces active learning, textual analyses and critical evaluation.  More simply put, a student can sit in class and say "this book stinks!" but if he or she sits down before a journal and writes. .

"This book stinks!. . ."

II    I will be looking for the following in your journal:

1. Three entries per week (totaling 38 by the end of the semester). Going beyond that number of entries could indicate to the instructor the kind of student who will achieve a high grade. If you do only what I require--and do it well--you will receive a 90 [B+]. Going beyond the teacher's expectations is what earns an A.

Please note that writing in your journal is not connected with days in class. In fact to reach the required entries you may have to write on Saturdays. It is also allowable to write two entries on a day as long as both are adequately developed.

A. Periodic class checks will determine the currency of your journal entries. Always bring your journal with you to class.

B. Journals will be handed in three times during the semester: Feb. 25,  April 7 and May 5.

2. A table of contents made from the thesis sentence found in each entry.

3. Journal entries must be at least 2/3 of a page long. Furthermore, if you are one of those individuals like St. Paul with BIG handwriting-- "Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand" (Gal. 6:11)--then you should plan to write more than what I have suggested. I've seen some fill up 2/3 of a page with "I've been thinking about our reading."

4. All entries should be numbered and dated: For Example  Entry # 19;  March 13, 2000

5. Although I will not be grading the journal harshly concerning mechanics and restarts of thought (which require a single line to cross out some material), I do expect the final product to be neat and legible. Also you should write full sentences within paragraphs--no fragmented stream of consciousness experiments. "Split from society--bad."

III    I will be especially looking in your journal for. . .

1. Development of ideas. Remember that it is not necessary to finish a work to have a good idea. In fact waiting till you have finished can be overwhelming. Keep your journal handy while reading.

2. Interconnectedness of journal entries. This means that an idea you examine at one point in your journal might have relevance to another work discussed later. Works in literature should not be thought of in a vacuum.

1. A diary. Your entries should be a mixture of commentary concerning what you read and what you discuss in and out of class about literature. I do not want to read (as I have in the past) what you had for lunch or who is presently percolating your hormones.

2. A place for notes.  Class notes belong in the section provided for them in your loose leaf. I should not see your actually writing in your journal during class. This also means that a journal is not a re-hashing of what is covered in class ("today in class we talked about. . .etc etc.").

V    REMEMBER:  Your journal accounts for 20% of your grade. That's the same as your final: DO NOT PUT OFF TO THE LAST MINUTE: DO NOT "BLOW IT OFF!"

The Writing Process  All of the following assignments MUST be typed, in MLA format, and in 14 font when they are handed in, or they will not be accepted.

Since this is an upper division literature course you will be required to produce one analytical paper on a work within this genre.  To be certain that individuals do not find themselves trying to pull this together at the last minute, students will submit elements of the paper in progress by the following dates:

Please Note: All  work must be handed in according to MLA style and all work must be done in 14 font.  Your freshman handbook should contain the needed material, but if that is unavailable follow these links to some current MLA resources on line:

1.    What Is MLA Style?
2.     Electronic Sources: MLA Style of Citation
3.    General MLA Guidlines

• Feb. 18 Select a topic
• March. 3 Submit an annotated bibliography of at least four sources--not including the novel with which you are working.
• March 17. Submit a thesis
• April. 10 Submit first two pages of paper
• April 28 or May 3 Submit final paper (First for initiative, Second average)

The Paper

You will be asked to analyze a novel either by gender issues, class structure, historical elements, or some other mechanism. Your work should prove your idea by quoting from the text, histories and critical articles. The work will be done in MLA format (Modern Language Association) which you learned in ENG 153G, Research Writing.  One special requirement is that your text will be in 14 font. So your work will be between sixteen (16) to twenty two (22) pages.

Click Here for a Quick Literary Paper Checklist

Tests, Midterm and Final

There will be four tests throughout the semester on basic class discussion and plot points of the novel. The Midterm will be strongly based on the first two tests. The final will be inclusive of the whole semester but will lean heavily on the second half. Also there may be an essay on the final.

Class Participation:

Attendance:

The most effective way of learning, as Socrates long ago discovered, is by trying one's ideas out on another and seeing what the response is. Since expressing your ideas is vital to do well in this class, you are expected to attend all class sessions. Three un-excused absences will mean three points off your final grade. The pattern will continue if the absences continue until the student has reaches seven. At that point the student may be asked to drop the class.

Discussion:

If a student sits like a silent lump of protoplasm there is no way for the other class members, the professor, nor the student him or herself to realize what insights the student has. Do not be surprised when I call on the quiet ones. Pragmatically I need the input to create an accurate grade, but it's also part of the fun of this class.

Remember, swimming is a joy, but you have to sometimes flounder a bit before you develop a strong stroke. Also I have been known to add extra credit to those students who constructively add to class discussion.

Class Etiquette

As a meeting of adults, the class is to be personified by respect for one another and for the instructor. Behavior which is excessively disruptive (private talking, passing notes, chewing gum like a cow, etc.) will not be tolerated. Also no hats will be worn during class sessions--this is not a ball park. "When I was a child I thought as a child but when I became a man (or woman) I put away childish things." Individuals who are not able to abide by these guidelines will be asked to drop the class.

Readings:

The student should try to be deep into the novels by the first date assigned. I know that this is not always possible, but the instructor shall go on faith that the student will read the novels in their entirety. Also it should be noted that especially as we begin to examine works of the 20th century the world views will be become ones in which Christian readers will become less and less comfortable.

The Web:

As we make our way through the readings you may wish to visit my web page,

Dr. Rearick's Reading Corner, located at

http://nzr.mvnc.edu/nzr/faculty/trearick/index.html

I have tried to place some ideas and even sometimes some test questions connected with our class readings within these files. Also in several cases there are links to study guides, e texts, and even connections to relevant web pages on the net. Note that every work is connected to a page which gives biographical information about the author taken from the Encyclopedia Britannica.

If you wish to make your way through the front door and see what other faculty are up to check out the MVNC internal web page at http://mvnc.edu/nzr which for some reason comes up on my computer with the address http://nzr.mvnc.edu/nzr/

Class Calendar

Week One

Feb. . 2 Introduction

Feb. 4  Quick Analysis of the Novel (Handout) pp. 1-12
            Extract from Don Quixote  (Handout) pp. 76-96

Week Two

Feb. 7 Robinson Crusoe
           Quick Analysis of the Novel (Handout) pp. 13-20

Feb. 9  Robinson Crusoe
           Quick Analysis of the Novel (Handout) pp. 21-28

Feb. 11 Robinson Crusoe
           Quick Analysis of the Novel (Handout) pp. 29-36

Week Three

Feb. 14 Extract from Pamela (Handout) pp. 97-105
           Quick Analysis of the Novel (Handout) pp. 36-45

Feb. 16 First ten letters of Shamela and  Joseph Andrews
           Quick Analysis of the Novel (Handout) pp. 46-56
             Faculty Development and Student Assessment but we still meet.

Feb. 18 Joseph Andrews Test One and Submit a Topic

Week Four

Feb. 21 Joseph Andrews
           Quick Analysis of the Novel (Handout) pp. 57-64

Feb. 23 Joseph Andrews

Feb. 25 Joseph Andrews and 1st Journal Evaluation (11 entries expected)

Week Five

Feb. 28  Pride and Prejudice
           Quick Analysis of the Novel (Handout) pp. 64-67.

March 1 Pride and Prejudice
           Quick Analysis of the Novel (Handout) pp. 68-75.

March 3  Pride and Prejudice Test Two and Submit an annotated bibliography of at least four sources

Week Six

March 6 Pride and Prejudice
              Baron and Hudson Literary Terms pp. 209 & 229-240

March 8  Jane Eyre Spring Revival (Ash Wednesday)

March 10 Jane Eyre

Week Seven

March 13 Midterm EXAM

March 15 Jane Eyre
                 Baron and Hudson Literary Terms pp.  217-227

March 17  Jane Eyre Submit a thesis  (Spring Break Begins at 5:10 in the evening)

Week Eight

March 20

March 22 Easter and Midterm Break

March 24

Week Nine

March 27 David Copperfield (Classes Resume  8:00 in the morning)

March 29 David Copperfield

March 31 David Copperfield

Week Ten

April 3 David Copperfield

April 5 David Copperfield

April 7 Moby Dick and hand in 2nd Journal Evaluation (26 entries expected in total)

Week Eleven

April 10 Moby Dick and Submit First 2 pages of Paper

April 12 Moby Dick

April 14 Moby Dick Test Three

Week Twelve

April 17 Moby Dick

April 19 Moby Dick

April 21 No Class (Good Friday)  Easter Weekend

Week Thirteen

April 24 No Class (Travel Day)

April 26 The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Initial Paper Due Date, for the go getters)

April 28 The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Week Fourteen

May 1 To the Lighthouse

May 3 To the Lighthouse (Average Final Date for Paper Due)

May 4 Blue Green Day

May 5 The Grass Dancer

Week Fifteen Final Week

May 8 The Grass Dancer and Third and Final Journals Due (38 entries expected in total)

May 10 Fahrenheit 451 Test Four  Power Point on SF and Fantasy

May 12 Fahrenheit 451 Closing comments.
 

FINAL EXAM Monday May 15, 1:00-2:50

Have a Glorious Summer and a Grand Time of Renewal!
 
 

Allen, Walter. The English Novel. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co, 1954.

"The Art of Literature: Novel." Encyclopedia Britannica On-line: n.pag. On-line: WWW. Internet. Sept. 5, 1996. Available. http://www.eb.com:

Doody, Terrence. Confession and Community in the Novel. Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, 1980.

Forster, E.M. Aspects of the Novel. San Diego: Harvest/ HPJ, 1955.

Kundera, Milan. The Art of the Novel. New York: Grove Press, 1988.