AP

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It has been brought to my attention that there is a page missing from the summer reading assignment. The information follows, but if you are not familiar with the material you may need to do additional research:

Aristotle once said that "A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." An Aristotelian tragic hero must possess specific characteristics, five of which are below:

Nobility (of a noble birth) or tradition (by virtue of birth). Hamartia (translated as flaw or error in judgment). Either a mistake within the character's actions or in his sense of self that leads to a downfall. A reversal of fortune (peripeteia) brought about because of the hero's Hamartia. The discovery or appreciation that the reversal was brought about by the hero's own arrangements (anagnorisis) The audience must feel pity and fear (fear that it could own been them) (catharsis) for the character. Initially, the tragic hero should be neither better nor worse morally than regular people, in command to allow the audience to identify with him. This also introduces pity, which is crucial in tragedy, for if the hero be perfect we would either be outraged next to his fate or not especially care due to his ideological superiority. If the hero be evil, then the audience would feel that he have gotten what he deserved. It is important to strike a balance within the hero's character.

Eventually the Aristotelian tragic hero dies a tragic death, have fallen from great heights and have made an irreversible mistake. The hero must courageously accept his or her death next to honor. This is not the case with adjectives tragic heroes, since Oedipus does not in certainty kill himself.

Summer Reading assignments Moby Dick

For this essay you should choose a theme from the following list early in the reading of the book. Then, as you read, assemble cases of the theme. Cases are different from examples. You will not so much be proving that the theme is present in the novel as examining different cases where it appears and seems to complicate, or raise questions about the theme itself or other issues in the text. Frame your thesis to address the problem that you see in a particular moment in the text; then use your close reading of that moment to open up into your argument about how or to what effect Melville developes that theme. This essay will be 5 pages in length.

Possible Topics on Moby Dick

1. Who Ain’t a Slave? 2. Melville’s Humor (sexual, digestive) 3. The Gams 4. Ropes and Lines 5. Oil as Product and Metaphore 6. The Role of Pip/Tashtego/Queequeg 7. Navigation (charts and instruments) as Theme and Idea 8. Hindoos/Egyptians/Parsees/Polynesians/Africans & Others 9. Biblical Images (Hell and Damnation, Job, Jonah, etc) 10. Epic Violence 11. Objects as Symbols (Doubloon, Harpoon, Sun and Weather, Coffin-Life-Buoy) 12. Tattooing, Hieroglyphics, and Wrinkles (Bodily Markings) 13. Maiming, Scars, Disease, and Wounds (Bodily Disfigurings) 14. Body of the Whale 15. Pictures of the Whale 16. Pipes, Smoke, Vapor, and Inspiration 17. Parts and Whole (analysis of a single chapter) 18. Fedallah/Carpenter/Blaxcksmith/and Ahab 19. Ahab and Starbuck 20. Images of Fate (“The Mat-Maker,” “The Gilder”) 21. Fire and Sun Worship 22. Whale Societies 23. Soliloquies 24. Superstition, Faith and Doubt 25. Whaling as Labor 26. Scenes/Sites of Beauty and Pleasure 27. ”Loomings” and “Epilogue” (Compare) 28. Drama and Theater (Moments of Performance) 29. Mothersd and Orphans, Fathers and Foundlings

The requirements for this paper are as follows: 1. Follow MLA format 2. Follow all rules for writing about literature 3. Use at least four sources 4. Papers will be handed in on the first day of class. No late papers will be accepted

The Bible: No written assignment, but please read the following Bible stories. Due to technical difficulties on my end I will be posting a few stories at a time. From the Beginning: 1. The Beginning (Ge 1:1-2:3) 2. Adam and Eve (Ge 2:15-3:24) 3. Cain and Abel (Ge 4:1-16) 4. The Flood (Ge 6:9-9:17) 5. The Tower of Babel (Ge 11:1-9)

I will try to get a PDF of the entire list online before the end of the week. I know that this is a lot of work, but I know that you are all capable and will enjoy having accomplished these feets.

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