Assignments

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#9999CC" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="041105a1ezuabz.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>242 Chinese Literature in Translation II: Popular Fiction and Drama</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="242 Chinese Literature in Translation II"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Schedule"><U>Schedule</U></A>   |   <B>Assignments</B>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Handouts"><U>Handouts</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><U>Related Links</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Meet Your Teacher"><U>Meet Your Teacher</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Me"><U>Contact Me</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#CCCCE4" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="040d2182ecggew.gif"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Assignments</div> <div> For evaluation and grading criteria, see the section below.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Paper 1</B></div> <bR> <div> Although the two transformation texts we have read in class appear to be very different from each other - one being on a religious theme ("The Great Maudgalyayana Rescues His Mother From Hell") and the other on a secular one ("Wu Tzu-hsu"), they nevertheless seem to share many important characteristics: they both feature male heroes who go to great lenghts to achieve their respective goals; they both use the motif of the journey as the organizational principle of the narrative; they both mix realistic descriptions with fantastic ones; and they both focus on core values of the Chinese tradition such as filial piety, honor, and individual moral integrity. In your essay of 4 to 5 pages (double-spaced, 12-point font, 1" side margins) explore the similarities between these two stories while also taking note of their differences. For the latter, make, for example, reference to the intellectual underpinnings of both stories and the conflicts depicted in them. In your analysis take also into account the fact that both stories were originally performed orally and with the help of a series of illustrations that captured key moments in these stories.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Due Date:</B> Monday, February 9, 2004</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Homework 1</B></div> <bR> <div> Use the following description of the demon story to analyze “Eternal Prisoner under the Thunder Peak Pagoda.” </div> <bR> <div> The structure of the demon story has been abstracted as three universal actors and four universal actions. The actors, in their order of appearance, are a young man, unmarried; a demon, that is, an animal spirit or the ghost of a dea person, in the guise of a young girl; and an exorcist, unsualy a Taoist master. The four actions may be labeled Meeting, Lovemaking, Intimation of Danger, and Intercession by the Exorcist. The young man goes out on a sprind day to a resort on the outskirts of the city, meets a beautiful girl, and the make love. At length he realizes she is a threat to his life and call in the help of a Taoist master who makes the girl return to her real form as a ghost or animal spirit and punishes her. In the more complex plots, actions may be repeated several times, particularly the action of Intimation. The “revelation” procedure is in regular use, in which the truth is only gradually revealed to the reader as it is to the hapless young man. The stories are intended to induce suspense. </div> <bR> <div> From: Patrick Hanan, <I>The Chinese Vernacular Story </I>(Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1981), p. 44.</div> <bR> <div> Identify the “three universal actors” and provide the specifics for the “four universal actions” in “Eternal Prisoner.” Take note of the fact that “Eternal Prisoner” has a complex plot and that there might be more than one set of “three universal actors” and and more than one sequence of “four universal actions.”</div> <bR> <div> You may present your findings either in the form of a table or a simple narrative.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Due date: February 19, 2004</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Paper 2</B></div> <div> Analyze the narrative structure of the early vernacular short story "Yang Siwen Meets an Old Acquaintance in Yanshan" (available on Electronic Reserve). Consider questions such as, what is the point of departure of "Yang Siwen"? What are the major events in the story? Through whom do we learn about these events? How much do we as readers know about the background of these events compared to what the characters know? To what extent does the narrator of the story make his presence felt? To what effect? What is the purpose of the various lyric poems cited in the story? How are we to interpret the quasi-double ending of the story? Why would the anonymous author present such a double ending? You will notice that there are certain narrative and thematic continuities between "Yang Siwen" and other stories we have read in class. Point such continuities out if you believe that doing so strengthens your analysis. </div> <bR> <div> Your essay should be between 4 and 5 pages long (double-spaced, 12-point font, 1" side margins) and conform to the <A HREF="http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/"><U>MLA format</U></A>. Remember to use simple present tense when summarizing and discussing the story. Shorter quotes should be worked into the main text; longer quotes, however, should be indented and set apart from the main text. In either case, remember that quotes do not speak for themselves; they have to be properly set up and then explicated. <A HREF="http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/index.cgi?section=tools" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/inde"><U>The Harvard Writing Center</U></A> has prepared an excellent series of handouts on the various phases of the writing process (including How to do a Close Reading, Essay Structure, Summary, Transitioning, and Ending the Essay). I strongly urge you to consult these handouts.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Due Date: March 1, 2004</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Paper 3</B></div> <div> Choose either <I>The Journey to the West </I> or <I>The Three Kingdoms</I> and discuss the dynamics of the relationship between the main characters in these two novels.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Due date: March 29, 2004</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Paper 4</B></div> <div> Use the "Family Instructions" (CP, pp. 39-45) of a family from the late Ming dynasty (late 16th c. - early 17th c.) to discuss the actions and thoughts of Ximen Qing and his women in <I>Plum in a Golden Vase</I>.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Due date: April 19 , 2004</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Evaluation Criteria for Papers</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">idiomatic use of words and expressions</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">no colloquiallisms</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">clear and logical organization of the paper</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">paragraphs are connected with effective transitions</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">opening paragraph states clearly the purpose of your essay (you have to have a particular point you want to make)</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">formal conclusion is optional</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">support your argument with carefully chosen quotations from the text; indent quotes that are longer than two lines</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">quotations don't speak for themselves; you need to interpret them so that the reader can understant your reasoning</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">use simple present tense for analysis and summary of the text</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">use simple past tense when referring to the historical context of a text, genre, or author</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">make use of critical terminology introduced in class; define key terms, if necessary</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">show that you have critically engaged with the text and have come to your own conclusions on a particular topic</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700c800000000.gif" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" width="24" height="13">plagiarism of any kind will result in a failing grade for the essay and might have additional consequences</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Useful Writing Aides</B></div> <bR> <div> <I>Books on Usage</I></div> <div> Weiner, E.S.C., and Andrew Delahunty, comp. <I>The Oxford Guide to English Usage</I> (New York: Oxford UP, 1994).</div> <div> Sora, Joseph W., ed. <I>Random House Writer's Reference </I>(New York: Random House, 2003).</div> <div> Heyworth, Gregory, and Rosette Liberman. <I>The Writing and Revision Stylebook</I> (New Haven: Cooper Hill Press, 2000).</div> <bR> <div> <I>Books on the Writing Process</I></div> <div> Howard V.A., and J.H. Barton. <I>Thinking on Paper</I> (New York: Quill, 1986).</div> <div> Kaye, Sanford. <I>Writing under Pressure: The Quick Writing Process</I> (New York: Oxford UP, 1989).</div> <bR> <div> <I>Books on Research and Documentation Styles</I></div> <div> Turabian, Kate L. <I>A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations</I> (Chicago: Chicago UP, 1996).</div> <div> Hacker, Diana. <I>Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age</I> (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999). </div> <div>           Also available for free on the Internet at: <A HREF="http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/"><U>http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I>Dictionaries</I></div> <div> <I>Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary </I>(Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000)</div> <div> <I>Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary</I> </div> <div>            Also available for free at: <A HREF="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/"><U>http://dictionary.cambridge.org/</U></A></div> <div> <I>Cambridge International Dictionary of English</I> (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1995)</div> <div> <I>Longman Advanced American Dictionary</I> (Harlow: Longman, 2001). </div> <div>           Also available for free as Longman Web Dictionary at: <A HREF="http://www.longmanwebdict.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.longmanwebdict.com/"><U>http://www.longmanwebdict.com</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>