Short Story Spring 2017

Library at Ancient Ephesus  Good evening, students.  Hope you are feeling good in whatever way life affords!    The quiz question last dealt with how Julio Cortazar structured the story "Continuity of Parks," and the themes portrayed. The author uses a third person point of view (over the shoulder) throughout and from the first sentence, first paragraph (there are only two paragraphs) makes the act of reading and its absorbing pleasures a focus.  Referred to only as "he" the central character is the owner of an estate who has returned by train from "urgent business" and taken certain legal actions to protect, we can assume, his estate.  He seeks the "tranquillity of his study" with its view to a park and woods where he will seat himself, in a "green velvet" chair, back to the door, to continue reading the novel he recently began.  The third person point of view is maintained as he sets to reading, avidly, about "the he...

George Condo Abstracted Figures , 2011 Acrylic, charcoal and pastel on linen 68 x 66 inches G ood afternoon, class.  I hope you got your story or essay written!  It is due today.     Today we will read "Continuity of Parks" and "Son of Satan," and then discuss Bukowski's portrayal of bored adolescent boys in a suburb of L.A.  Last quarter some of the students commented as follows:   The story sounds real to me, like something we might hear anywhere, the news, social media, from friends. Violence is one of the worst things that will effect your kids [. . .] Kids pick on other kids that they believe can't help themselves. The ending didn't make much sense because it sort of just, ends, [. . . ] Many children tend to follow the leader, or one they aspire to [ . . .] a critique of the herd-like nature of humanity. [. . . ] the epitome of the pack mentality that is common among the disenfranchised youth ...