ENG 121 Study Guide - Winter 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Christianity, William Wordsworth, Walt Whitman
12 Oct 2018
Department
Course
Professor
ENG 121
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Short Stories
Paul’s Case
1. Paul is being characterized with terms associated with criminals – misdemeanors. How
he dresses should mark how he behaves: being complacent. They judge the way he
dresses to his behavior.
2. He is being judged by his appearance, he is odd. How he looks does not fit, he stands
out and not in a way that can be celebrated.
3. Third person narration is used throughout the narrative – his point of view is not told.
Maybe he has suffered some abuse we are unaware of. There is more to Paul than the
narrator’s or faculty’s reaction to Paul. There is a switch of narration relating to the fact
that Paul is being prayed upon. ‘Twitching’ – he is nervous.
4. The narrator is the only one who takes into consideration of Paul’s mental state. He does
not judge the physical appearance of Paul but sees it as a deeper meaning as to what
Paul is feeling. ‘White Blue Veins’ – premature aging.
5. He can accept routine. He likes a created environment. All the values at the Hall are
ones that he cherishes – creativity and individualism. Paul is largely a victim of
circumstance. He is free and comfortable with everyone.
6. The female protagonist embodies the romance, individualism, he cherishes, the school
is trying to stuff out of him. She is female; he lost his mother. He is envisioning her as a
mother that he lost. ‘Exotic’ – opposite of middle class values.
7. He lies to his father. Position of his father – he looks down on him and seeing him as
worthless.
8. John Calvin – Calvinism (realism) rejects what he wants – individualism – society’s
expectation of lots of children – attending Sabbath School, ‘study rationalism, science,
steadiness’ – no creativity. ‘waters closing in on him’ – he feels like he is drowning.
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9. He thinks od scenarios that happens if his father shot him. He focuses on his father
wanting him dead.
10. The boy represented what Paul’s father wants him to be. Paul is victimized at school and
at home. His father cuts off all contact with Paul and the world. He is dragged from
school and makes him work – he then steals and moves to New York, but still
establishes his individualism. He is driven to this by his father and the school. He buys
himself things to show who he really is.
11. His plan then unfolds – direct rebellion against his father. He feels empowered. He aims
to reconstruct himself on his own terms. All his insecurities are removed by virtue of
what he does. He no longer lies, he can be who he is.
12. He is exposed to the world, but he sees that the whole world is Cordea Street and he
can’t escape it. His father is hunting him down.
13. There is no way to escape so he makes the decision to end his life. All the world is
Cordea Street and the only way to escape this is to end his life.
An Outpost of Progress
1. Do the characters exhibit these qualities? They do not. Negative descriptions by
narrator. He is not doing it for the morality of the imperial act. He acts out of self-interest.
2. The director does represent the imperial duty. Him evaluating the man in a negative way,
showing that he is immoral. The company does not care about employees.
3. Makola is from Sierra Leone. He is not socially superior – based on European standards,
but he is the best man on that team. He despises them and would do anything to
sabotage their mission. These men believe that they are from somewhere ‘civilized’, yet
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Document Summary
Paul"s case: paul is being characterized with terms associated with criminals misdemeanors. How he dresses should mark how he behaves: being complacent. They judge the way he dresses to his behavior: he is being judged by his appearance, he is odd. How he looks does not fit, he stands out and not in a way that can be celebrated: third person narration is used throughout the narrative his point of view is not told. Maybe he has suffered some abuse we are unaware of. There is more to paul than the narrator"s or faculty"s reaction to paul. There is a switch of narration relating to the fact that paul is being prayed upon. Twitching" he is nervous: the narrator is the only one who takes into consideration of paul"s mental state. He does not judge the physical appearance of paul but sees it as a deeper meaning as to what. White blue veins" premature aging: he can accept routine.
