English work

his activity asks you to identify a theme in a complex modern story of the deep south. Completing this activity gives you the skill necessary to write about theme in other forms of literature such as poetry and drama that you will study over the duration of this course.

Begin this activity by reading William Faulkner’s famous short story “Barn Burning”. Use the module notes and readings from Module 1 to help guide your understanding of the story’s theme. Clearly, the story grapples with a universal theme of justice, but what about justice does this story focus on and how, if at all, are the complexities of this theme resolved? To help understand Faulkner’s very sophisticated narrative techniques and to see an example of a scholarly analysis of the short story, please read: Ford, M. (1998). Narrative legerdemain: Evoking Sarty's future in 'Barn Burning'. Mississippi Quarterly, 51(3), 527.

You can also view the following videos to help you understand the plot, characters, and narrative of this profound little story:

•  Plot of Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” [Video File] [06 min 29 sec]
•  "Barn Burning” by William Faulkner Analysis [Video File] [04 min 27 sec]
•  Shelby Foote on William Faulkner and the American South [Video file][29 min 25 sec]

When you have completed the introductory work, write a 500-750 word maximum essay on your understanding of the primary theme of William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning.” You should quote short passages (4 lines or less) from the story to support your argument. Of course, there are many essays on this classic story, so if you use another author’s commentary on the story, such as the one you are asked to read in this module, make sure to cite that author’s article including the website using APA formatting. For information on APAformatting ask one of Excelsior College’s expert librarians.

Also

his discussion activity introduces you to one of Asia’s leading contemporary writers. His story is a very modern take on the old story telling genre of the fairy tale. This is a fairy tale for adults and represents an interesting twist on the theme of love at first sight. Through this discussion you will learn how to talk about themes in literature and how ancient themes still present themselves in modern literature. This shows the universality of literature.

Before participating in the discussion activity, begin by completing the following:

Read the story, Murakami, Haraki. (16 July 2012). On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful april morning.

Retrieved from http://youmightfindyourself.com/post/22131227213/on-seeing-the-100-perfect-girl-one-beautiful-april.

This noted Japanese writer plays with the genre of fairy tales, a classic form of children’s literature. He adopts this form for adult purposes. As you read the story think about the following questions: Why are the boy and girl lonely? What is the effect of the fantasy speech? What do you think of the shift from first person to omniscient narration? What attracts the narrator to the girl? Why does he not speak to her?

Start by reviewing the primary posts of your peers and the reply posts of other classmates. Then, in a primary post of 250 words or more, respond to the following set of questions.

1. How would you define perfection in a romantic partner and have you ever observed such perfection?
2. What purpose do fairy tales serve?
3. Why do you think the narrator uses the form of a fairy tale and how does his story differ from fairy tales you have read or heard?
4. What truth, if any, does this story contain about the purpose of stories?

Explain your answer.