For This Week: Stoker's Dracula, Chs.I-XIII

Whistler's Symphony in White, No. 1 (1876):

Below is the rough reading schedule for next week. The readings are suggested goals to keep you on track with the reading. However, there is no immediate penalty for being a dozen or so pages behind! Pages below correspond to the Bedford/St.Martin's edition.

Monday: Chs.I-V (pp.26-83)

Wednesday: Chs.VI-X (pp.83-147)

Friday: Chs. XI-XIII (pp.147-189)

Answer ONE of the following for Friday

1. Last week we discussed theories of identity and constructions of the 'subject.' How do the characters of either Johnathan Harker or Dracula address some of these issues in their 'performance' of identity? Consider the following quotes as you respond:

* Harker: "I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips. It is not good to note this down, lest some day it should meet Mina's eyes and cause her pain; but it is the truth" (Ch.III/61).

* Dracula: "Here I am noble; I am boyar; the common people know me, and I am master. But a stranger in a strange land, he is no one; men know him not--and to know not is to care not for" (Ch.II/45).

2. Dracula has no single narrator binding the entire novel together from either an omniscient or an unreliable point of view. Rather, the book is cobbled together from several different narrators, some consciously narrating (Harker's diary, Mina and Lucy's letters, etc.), while others are forced into the role unknowingly (newspaper reports, phonograph recordings, shipping receipts). How does this affect how we read the work and understand even the simplest ideas of plot, characterization, and narration? Is the entire work 'unreliable'? Or does the factual nature of the sources (private diaries, public newspaper clippings) make it more reliable than our previous works?

3. When Harker first beholds the three 'brides' of Dracula, he remarks, "I seemed somehow to know her face, and to know it in connection with some dreamy fear, but I could not recollect at the moment how or where" (Ch.III/61). How might we use Freud's theory of "the Uncanny" to read this passage and others in the opening chapters, even though the monsters are clearly real? Is the Uncanny still valid when actual horrors are unloosed upon the fictional world?

4. How does Stoker's characterization of Dracula differ from modern versions of Dracula and of vampires in general? Though Dracula is not the first literary vampire in England (he is preceded by Polidori's Lord Ruthven by several decades), he created the prototypical mythology that all subsequent vampires follow. Nevertheless, Stoker's 'Dracula' shows some remarkable differences that often surprise or even disappoint readers. What might these be...and what might Stoker's intentions have been in writing him this way?

For Friday: Culler, Chapter 8 (no class on Friday!)

Batman: The Theoretical Poster Child of Identity

Answer ONE of the following questions based on Chapter 8 of Culler's Literary Theory, "Identity, Identification, and the Subject" by Friday (though no class that day):

1. On page 113, Culler writes that "Literature has long been blamed for encouraging the young to see themselves as characters in novels and to seek fulfilment in analogous ways : running away from home to experience the life of the metropolis, espousing the values of heroes and heroines in revolting against their elders," etc. What modern work do you feel works in this way today and why? How do people identify with the characters/situations in the book (or film) and why might this be perceived as dangerous?

2. From the perspective of Psychoanalysis, identity is not something that can ever be original or achieved; on the contrary, "identity is a failure...we do not happily become men or women...the internalization of social norms...always encounters resistance and ultimate does not work" (Culler, 114). Briefly discuss a work (book, film show) where this seems to be the case: how does the work explore some of the characters' difficulty in finding their identity as men/women, children/adults, professionals, parents, etc.

3. One of the great theoretical debates about group identity concerns essentialism, which states that there is something essential, or innate, to members of that group. This would suggest that to be born American is to be American; to be born black is to be black; to be born Italian is to eat Italian food. However, many writers and theorists, notably Richard Rodriguez (author of The Hunger of Memory, Brown, etc.) claims that race/ethnicity is a cultural choice and that he, though born to Mexican parents, is more Chinese because he lives and identifies with the Asian culture prevalent in San Francisco. What do you think about the idea that you can 'choose' your identity in a cultural sense? Can a 'white' kid become 'black'? Can an American become Iranian? Can an Italian prefer Indian food to his 'own'? (and is there a such thing as your food?)

Next Week: The Others (film) and Critical Paper #1

We'll be watching The Others next Monday-Wednesday (and possibly a bit on Friday), with a general discussion on Friday.  Instead of questions for this week, since you have a paper due, we'll do some in-class writing based on the film and its 'reading' of The Turn of the Screw.

Critical Paper #1 is below (for some reason it didn't post when I submitted it on Monday--my apologies!)

Critical Paper #1: Theories of the Gothic

For your first longer, critical paper, I want you to use Short Paper #2 as a bridge into a theoretical, analytical discussion of both Poe and James.  Paper #2 should be absorbed into the paper--with my comments, if you wish--and expanded or contracted as you see fit.  However, you must discuss both authors in your paper, focusing on at least one of Poe's stories and James' The Turn of the Screw. 

THE ASSIGNMENT

The assignment is simple: find a theoretical perspective that allows you to analyze and connect each author’s work in a useful and interesting way.  You don't have to say anything shocking or new, but I want you to find ideas that are new to you and change the way you initially read the stories.  Consider the approaches of poetics (author, intended reader, immediate culture) and hermeneutics (the text, reader response, outside culture and theoretical ideas) as you begin to formulate your ideas.  Above all be consistent: if you wrote about ‘poetics’ in your Paper #2, continue the same approach for the entire paper (don't switch mid-stream).  Also, be sure to ground your discussion in close readings of specific passages in the text.  Don't rely on plot summary or vague generalizations.  Be specific and point your reader to ideas in the text that you want them to see/read/interpret. 

SOURCES

For your sources, I want you to exploit the treasure-trove of theoretical ideas you have at your fingertips: Culler's Literary Theory and the Bedford/St. Martin's edition of The Turn of the Screw.  You do not have to find sources outside of these two works (and the articles printed within them), but you are certainly allowed to hunt for more articles on Poe, James, or your own theoretical suspicions.  However, you must use the following in your paper:

·         At least one chapter Culler's Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (stick to the chapters we've read and discussed: 1, 2, 4 and 6).  Culler offers numerous jumping-off points for a meaningful analysis of any work, and I've tried to make connections between his text and our books throughout class.   

·         At least two sources in our edition of The Turn of the Screw: these can be contextual documents (such as "The Victorian Governess in Fact and Fiction") or James' Revisions to the two editions, or the theoretical approaches in the back (such as Bruce Robbins' essay or others). 

·         Also consider Freud's essay, "The Uncanny" which I passed out in class, or other articles on Poe, James, individual works, Marxism, Psychoanalysis, Reader Response Theory, Feminism, Gender/Queer Theory, etc. 

REQUIREMENTS

·         At least 5-6 pages double spaced

·         The sources listed above, cited according to MLA format

·         DUE BY FRIDAY, MARCH 9th BY MIDNIGHT (in true Gothic fashion)