Response 4: Kafka, Altschul, and Forster

DUE: October 1, 2013

This response has more specific guidelines than past responses. I would like to see you start practicing the kind of analysis you’ll need to do in the midterm and in the final paper, so this prompt has that goal in mind. Some of you are already doing this analysis in your responses, but overall it seems like more practice is needed. Please try to use the fiction terms [.pdf file] we discussed in class. For example, when you talk about what happened, it's the "story." When you talk about order of events and structure, it's "plot."

In class yesterday (9/26), we listed a bunch of themes that relate to both "My Neighbor" by Franz Kafka and "The Future’s Not Ours to See" by Andrew Altschul (nice work, everyone!). As you’ll discover, many of these themes also appear in Forster’s "The Machine Stops." I will list these themes below, but keep in mind that there may be others not listed and that some of the listed themes closely overlap. Here are three prompts to guide your fourth response:

  • Single passage analysis. Choose a theme (or pairing of related themes) and analyze it through the lens of a passage that you believe is significant and representative of the theme. Try to choose a passage we didn’t discuss in class, and do not choose a passage from Kafka. Make an effort to demonstrate that you read the story carefully. Again, for single passage analysis, do not choose a passage from Kafka’s story.
  • Comparative passage analysis. Another approach would be to analyze two passages (from two different stories) alongside each other, noting similarities and/or differences in the way they treat the theme you chose. Think about using the passages as lenses though which you will view the stories and the theme as a whole. In some ways the, passages might inform each other, and in other ways they might be very different. You can choose your passages from a pairing of any of the three stories we read for 9/26 and 10/1.
  • Trace a theme. A final approach would be to choose one theme and trace its development in one story, citing passages along the way. Or, compare/contrast the theme's development in two stories--again, citing passages from both. Remember that your goal is approx. 400 words, so you really need to use quotes sparingly. Most of your time should be spent on original analysis, using paraphrase and short quotes to support your points.

I encourage you to do the "10 on 1" exercise before writing your response. Use a significant passage as the "1" and list 10 things (observations, points, interpretations, implications) related to the passage. Then select a few that stand out, using that as the basis for your response. If you missed class on Thursday 9/26, here is the handout [.pdf file] that explains "10 on 1." If you missed Thursday’s class, you’ll also want to review the important fiction terms handout [.pdf file].

Themes

  • technology as a destructive force
  • a loss of control or agency
  • the unknown
  • mysterious identity
  • insecurity or feeling lost
  • loss of privacy / issue of surveillance
  • insanity (breakdown of reason)
  • paranoia
  • fear
  • social life revamped or turned upside down
  • a dramatic shift or turning point
  • alienation, from one’s work and from one’s self
  • rats or mice (an unwelcome presence or infestation)
  • bureaucracy or laws/rules/policies
  • the service provider/customer relationship
  • the strain of manners/customs and acting in an “acceptable” way
  • other themes not listed here?

Post your response in the comments below, and be sure to save your work in a separate document first. Just in case. As a reminder, here are the response guidelines as they appear in the syllabus.

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