ENGL 3906: Literary Methods

Dr. Sigler

Group Project: Leading Class Discussion on Toni Morrison's Beloved

Instructions for Presentations and Discussion:

• Each group will be responsible for working together by discussing their topic in person (by arranging to meet outside of class) and/or via e-mail and collaborating on workload to:
• Present a brief overview of their topic (5-10 minutes)
• Develop discussion questions and lead a 15-minute class discussion on their topic that includes relevant specific examples from the novel.
• Create a visual supplement to the presentation: this could be a poster, overhead transparencies, PowerPoint presentation, video clip, or combination or these (if your group will need a laptop, be sure to reserve one through ITSS in KPlz 175).

• Please limit your presentation/discussion to no less than 20 and no more than 25 minutes. Practice and time it on your own. If you fail to present on the day you are assigned, you will receive a grade of F.

• Your role is to present the topic to the class in an interesting manner. You may use notes or outlines to present the work but please do not read to the class from a prepared text. Know what you are talking about, and be prepared to field questions during and after your presentation.

• In your oral presentation, begin by summarizing your findings about the topic, and leading the class through some examples from the novel that illustrate your points. At the end of your presentation (5-10 minutes), start the class discussion (15 minutes) by asking some key questions—these should be questions that generate a variety of interpretations and/or opinions. These questions should be large and important enough to generate answers that help us to understand the novel. You should also be prepared to follow up with your own answers, and lead the class to some specific relevant examples (passages) from the text.

• If you have any questions about what you are to do, or would like suggestions for finding resources on Morrison, don't hesitate to discuss them with me. Be sure to consult the online resources available via the class Web page http://www.d.umn.edu/~csigler/methodslitstudy.html (scroll to the bottom of the page), as well as the essay collections on Morrison available at the reserves desk in the UMD library. The Dictionary of Literary Biography and Contemporary Author databases (see UMD Library database Web page) can also offer useful background and bibliographic information.

• Grades will be based on my evaluation of each presentation as a whole, and will count as 10% of your total class grade.

Group Topics and Dates:

Topic 1 (4/4)—Background on Toni Morrison (biography, literary career, major themes): Tell us what we need to know about Morrison to understand her as a writer. What are some major events in her life? In what ways might her background have a significant influence on her writing? What are some key social issues/conflicts/themes that tend to inform her writing in general, and Beloved in particular? How is Morrison (and specifically, how is Beloved) regarded by critics? What has she written or said about Beloved that might help us understand and appreciate it more fully?

Topic 2 (4/4)—Major Characters in Beloved: Help us understand the role, significance and interrelationships of some of the major characters in Beloved (other than Beloved herself): Sethe, Denver, Paul D, Baby Suggs, Stamp Paid, Schoolteacher, Halle. You may choose others that you feel are more significant if you prefer.

o In general: Character Analysis defines characters' qualities to explore how they react to various conditions or attempt to shape their environment. In other words, the reader/writer seeks to explain why characters behave/think/act in the manners they do. Here are some questions that might assist in the analysis of characters:

• Consider the character's name and appearance.
• Consider if he/she a static (unchanging) or dynamic (changing) character.
• Consider how the author discloses the character:
• By what the character says or thinks.
• By what the character does.
• By what other characters say about him/her.
• By what the author says about him/her.

Topic 3 (4/4)—Beloved as character and symbol: Who is Beloved? Is she a ghost? Consider the possibility that she is something different to each character. How does she function in the novel as a character and/or as a symbol? What is significant about the timing of her appearance and her disappearance? How does Beloved fit into Morrison's idea of "rememory"?

• In general: Character Analysis defines characters' qualities to explore how they react to various conditions or attempt to shape their environment. In other words, the reader/writer seeks to explain why characters behave/think/act in the manners they do. Here are some things that might assist in the analysis of a character that you might wish to ask yourself:
  

• Consider the character's name and appearance.
• Consider if he/she a static (unchanging) or dynamic (changing) character.
• Consider how the author discloses the character:

• By what the character says or thinks.
• By what the character does.
• By what other characters say about him/her.
• By what the author says about him/her.

• Analysis of Symbolism (and Imagery) involves demonstrating why an author chooses to use one or more dominant, recurring symbols or images. Consider if these images/symbols help to:
  

• Evoke emotions.
• Establish mood.
• Reinforce characterization.
• Help convey a theme(s)

Topic 4 (4/6):—Major Symbols in Beloved: Help us understand the significance (and possibly interrelationships) of some of the major symbols in Beloved: 124 (E.G. The opening sentence: "124 was spiteful" (3); Trees/nature; Money and wealth; Colors (E.G. Baby Suggs, "between the nastiness of life and the meanness of death . . . used the little energy left her for pondering color" [3-4]); Quilts; Masks; the Tin Tobacco Box. You may choose others that you feel are more significant if you prefer.

• In general: Analysis of Symbolism (and Imagery) involves demonstrating why an author chooses to use one or more dominant, recurring symbols or images. Consider if these images/symbols help to:
• Evoke emotions.
• Establish mood.
• Reinforce characterization.
• Help convey a theme(s)

Topic 5 (4/6):—The Legacy of Slavery as a Theme in Beloved: In Beloved, Morrison attempts to show that slavery is not just an institution, it is a philosophy and mindset which is far-reaching in its consequences. In what ways (scenes, images, symbols, characters) does the novel demonstrate the extent of slavery and what must be done to abolish it completely? In what ways does the novel suggest that the main characters and all the members of the black community in Cincinnati are haunted by the traumas of slavery and racism? How does the novel try to show that a person must confront the past (which is very much alive in the present) in order to heal the wounds it has caused and find a future? Consider the relationship between Beloved and the history of slavery in the US. Who are the "Sixty Million and more" to whom the novel is dedicated?

• In general: Analysis of Theme involves understanding the concept, thought, opinion or belief that the author expresses. Two main questions to consider are:

§ Does it seem as though the author is making a value judgment?

§ How does the author convey her ideas? Consider:

--Direct statements. --Imagery and symbolism. --A character's thoughts or statements. --A character who stands for something (e.g. an archetype) --Overall impression/tone/meaning of the work?

Topic 6 (4/6)—The Importance of Community Solidarity as a Theme in Beloved: How does Beloved demonstrate the extent to which individuals need the support of their communities in order to survive? (Consider Sethe, Denver and Paul D. in particular.) How does Cincinnati's black community play a pivotal role in the events of 124?

• In general: Analysis of Theme involves understanding the concept, thought, opinion or belief that the author expresses. Two main questions to consider are:

§ Does it seem as though the author is making a value judgment?

§ How does the author convey her ideas? Consider:

--Direct statements. --Imagery and symbolism. --A character's thoughts or statements. --A character who stands for something (e.g. an archetype) --Overall impression/tone/meaning of the work?