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23077. David Ehrenstein - 12/2/2007 10:35:07 PM It's a teriffic book that's best taught in the simplest fashion. Don't hand it to the students as a "classic" or "important" work, just an interesting and well-written one. Then see what they say.
Actually I'd advise this for all teaching of literature.
Except for Proust of course. 23078. Ms. No - 12/2/2007 11:37:22 PM I haven't read Beloved, but it was mentioned in class as being based on a real-life incident in which Margaret Garner killed her daughter when confronted by slave catchers rather than have the child returned to slavery. 23079. arkymalarky - 12/2/2007 11:43:35 PM True! I'm reading Remembrance of Things Past right now. I started it several years ago and had to put it down when rl intervened.
Do you think they need workable background information on the historical aspects of IM? As complicated as TSATF is, you don't have to have much historical knowledge to get it. I didn't have much historical understanding the first time I read it. With IM I don't know. That's my biggest reservation about it. I don't want to have to teach a history unit before I teach the book, but there's so much great stuff that it seems people who don't have that background would miss. Not that it isn't great without it, but I don't know, because I didn't read it without that knowledge, like I did TSATF. 23080. arkymalarky - 12/2/2007 11:44:54 PM I think I read that too, No. The plot is fascinating, and many people whose opinions I greatly respect love it. But I've read it twice, and many of the things Morrison tries to do with it don't succeed for me. 23081. Ms. No - 12/3/2007 12:16:13 AM I don't know that I've ever gotten all the way through a Morrison book. I chalk that up to my lazy reading habits. 23082. arkymalarky - 12/3/2007 12:30:41 AM Surely not. Surely if she compelled you with her writing, you'd get through at least one.
One difference between myself and several other classmates, which had nothing to do with appreciating the book beyond how she handled it in her style, was they believed in ghosts. I won't go so far as to discount the possibility, but my skepticism evidently affected my perception of her approach to the ghost. I just didn't care for it. But when I tell people about the book who haven't read it, I myself am taken with the plot.
I think for me the bottom line is that I can't stand the feeling of the writer peering over my shoulder when I read a book. That's how her writing strikes me.
And I hate it, because Beloved was recommended to me by a very intelligent student whom I think a great deal of. 23083. Ms. No - 12/3/2007 1:14:36 AM I can't stand the feeling of the writer peering over my shoulder when I read a book
Yes! I think that's it exactly. Reading is a solitary experience for me. I want to be alone with the story and the characters while I'm reading. Discussing it with others later is great, but if the author's presence is too strong, I feel as if I'm being watched and consequently judged or condescended to somehow. 23084. arkymalarky - 12/3/2007 1:42:05 AM And there are some great moments in it, some beautifully written scenes, and in a lot of ways it's a great story. I still get chills thinking about the epilogue and the footprints. But for me, because she never disappears, Morrison just doesn't pull it off. But again, she does for many people. I'd love to have a discussion of the book here if we could get enough interested participants. 23085. arkymalarky - 12/3/2007 1:50:16 AM Wabbit and No, that's an open offer to host it, btw, if you think people are interested. I'll see what kind of response we get in here and maybe after Christmas? Or before? I'm easy now that I'm out of graduate school and activism. 23086. Ms. No - 12/3/2007 3:31:42 AM That would be pretty cool! I start vacation on Dec 18th --- I leave that morning at 6am for Baton Rouge and then I'm there for ten days, I think, so I could certainly read it in that time and participate either then or whenever we get a group up and going.
(As you can see I have been less than diligent about my paper today -- popping in here every little while and finding chores to do around the house.)
Okay, I swear I'm not coming back until I've got my paper together! 23087. arkymalarky - 12/3/2007 4:39:52 AM Hey, I have so been there! It's comical watching someone else do the Procrastination Tango. 23088. arkymalarky - 12/3/2007 4:41:09 AM That sounds good. Our break is weird this time. We're not out until Dec 22 and go back Jan 7. 23089. wonkers2 - 12/3/2007 4:50:56 AM Ms. No--I lived in Baton Rouge age 7-17 and graduated from University H.S. at L.S.U. Baton Rouge is a nice town and L.
S.U. has a nice campus. I went back for a high school reunion several years ago and had a ball. I hope you enjoy your stay there. And, as I'm sure you know, New Orleans is an easy drive from Baton Rouge if you have the opportunity. There are some great places to eat and listen to jazz in New Orleans. I'm not up to speed on restaurants in Baton Rouge. 23090. arkymalarky - 12/3/2007 5:02:09 AM Wonk, would you be in for a book discussion around Christmas or after? 23091. wonkers2 - 12/3/2007 5:13:22 AM Sure. But I don't read a lot of fiction these days, mostly book reviews. I'd be happy to participate if I've read or have the time and interest to read the book(s). Keep me posted. (I see a lot of movies, but I don't read many books. I need to get a stand-up reading desk because I tend to fall asleep reading on the couch or in bed. Oh, the joys of growing old! 23092. arkymalarky - 12/3/2007 5:18:52 AM I TOTALLY understand. For the whole time I was busy with rural ed and graduate school I didn't read a single novel except for my American Novels class. I'll let you know when/if it gets going. 23093. arkymalarky - 12/3/2007 5:19:34 AM The first thing I read after my last class was the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I read it straight through--twice. It was pure joy. 23094. arkymalarky - 12/3/2007 5:20:10 AM It was a re-read, btw, not a new read. 23095. wonkers2 - 12/3/2007 5:33:50 AM I've never read the Lord of the Rings although my wife and all three children did. I absorbed some of it by osmosis. I can't criticize it without reading it, but I'm not drawn to that type of literature for some reason. I tend to go for Hemingway-type adventure, Steinbeck realism, and Latin American magical realism (Garcia Marquez and Amado, although Amado may be closer to Steinbeck and maybe Faulkner). When I was a kid in La. I was a fan of Erskine Caldwell and Mickey Spillane. John Barth is one of my favorites. And I have a lot of respect for Updike although I've only read a couple of his books. I've read some of his stories and articles in the New Yorker over the years. He and Pynchon are about my age and that may help me relate to their stuff (which I haven't read any of for a while). 23096. David Ehrenstein - 12/3/2007 6:44:56 AM "Workable background"? Do they have any idea of the history of race relations in this country?
Do they know that the likes of Will Smith used to be bought and sold?
Do they know what "Jim Crow" means?
Have they heard of Emmett Till?
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