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I. THE STORY OF AN HOUR A. KATE CHOPIN She was an American author of short stories and novels, and now considered by some to have been a [ENFORRUENR] of feminist authors of the 20th century. She was either ignored or condemned during her timeit was not until 1920s that her short stories began to appear in anthologies, and by 1950s, scholars had recognized the power and insight of her [OCITFNI]. She is best remembered for her novel [HET] [NWKIAENAKEG] an early masterpiece of American realism and a superb rendering of female experience. She died of brain [GHOHAMERRE] after a strenuous day at St. Louis Worlds Fair where she had been a regular visitor. B. FOCUS QUESTIONS Describe Mrs. Mallard as the central figure in the story. How did she react upon learning about her husbands demise? What happened inside her room? What delightful and deadly realizations seized her? What significant images in the story echo the protagonists secret lon ging or desire to be free? Explain the doctors diagnosis about the cause of Mrs. Mallards death. Why is it called a joy that kills? Why is the story titled The Story of an Hour? How does the length of the story reinforce the title and the plot of the narrative? C. TEXTURED DISCUSSIONS FEMINISM: the portrayal of women in various literary and cultural productions Mrs. Mallard: a woman who silently and secretly desires freedom due oppressiveness of marriage Marriage: inherently oppressive; stifles both men and women; robs ones independence As women are controlled and oppressed by marriage, their individual rights are silenced and ignored. D. THE ENDURING UNDERSTANDING The desire to be free, if not articulated and realized, brings forth negative repercussions. II. A ROSE FOR EMILY A. WILLIAM FAULKNER William Cuthbert Faulkner, who came from an old southern family, grew up in Oxford, [IISSSSIMIPP]. He worked in a variety of written media, including novels, short stories, poetry, essays and [SPCLRAEYENS]. He is one of the most important writers in both American literature generally and [ESRTOHUN] literature specifically. His most celebrated works include The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, Light in [SGAUUT], and Absalom, Absalom! He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949, and [TLPRZUIE] Prize for Fiction in 1955 and 1963. Faulkner died on July 6, 1962, of a [HRETA] [TACTKA] at Wright's Sanitarium in Byhalia, Mississippi. B. FORMALISTIC Analysis SOUTHERN GOTHIC STYLE: is a subgenre of Gothic fiction unique to American literature that takes place exclusively in the American South. deeply flawed, disturbing or eccentric characters b. ambivalent gender roles c. grotesque situations d. sinister events relating to or coming from poverty, alienation, racism, crime, and violence OBLIQUE PLOT STRUCTURE deviation from the conventional linear approach fracturing, shifting and manipulating of time USE OF COLLECTIVE VOICE AS THE NARRATOR use of pronoun WE

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C. FOCUS QUESTIONS The narrator started the story by telling that the whole Jefferson town attended Emily Griersons funeral. Why did Emily attract so much attention? Describe the Griersons house. Establish parallelism between the house and its owner, Emily. How is Emily depicted in the following parts of the story? when she was a young girl when she was visited by the tax deposition team when her father passed away when she met Homer Barron when Homer Barron disappeared How did the people of Jefferson react when they saw Emily with Homer? Why was this relationship met with such ambivalent reactions? What did the townsfolks discover when they inspect the different rooms of the Grierson house right after the funeral of Emily? Did it help tighten the story by supplying the clue as regards the gaps in the narrative? The story is entitled A Rose for Emily. However, the rose is not mentioned in the story. How would you explain the title? What do you think is the representation of rose? D. TEXTURED DISCUSSIONS Necrophilia Death-in-life Obsession Dehumanization Clash between Tradition and Change Social Class Division: Gap between the Rich and the Poor Racial Prejudice Affirmation of Process Homo-sexuality E. THE ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Death, pain, suffering and a host of other negative feelings are inevitable; likewise, they are fundamental in understanding the essence of life and change. III. STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING A. ROBERT FROST is a native of San Francisco, California. is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life, and his command of American colloquial speech. believed that poetry is the art of saying one thing and meaning another. received four Pulitzer Prizes for his poetry. His personal life was plagued with grief and loss. B. FOCUS QUESTIONS Describe the poems setting in time and place. Discuss the personas plight as reflected in the first three stanzas. What resolution is highlighted at the end of the poem? What specific poetic lines echo the personas decision? Explain the description ascribed to the woodslovely, dark and deep. What significant binary oppositions can be noted from the poem? What profound truth does the poem reveal? C. TEXTURED DISCUSSIONS STRUCTURALISM: assumes that meaning is understood through difference expressed through binary oppositions. Binary Opposition: a pair of theoretical opposites (light vs. dark; Male rationalism vs. female emotionalism; written vs. oral) Mythological-Archetypal Theory: based on Carl Jungs collective unconscious; identifies archetypes Archetype: a typical or recurring image, character, narrative design, theme or other literary phenomenon that has been in literature from the beginning and regularly reappears D. THE ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Life has its push and pull, and the challenge to every man is to reconcile the tension created by such polarities so as to achieve a better existence.

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IV. LAS RUINAS DEL CORAZON A. ERIC GAMALINDA He is a poet, fiction writer, [TGRAYWPLIH] and experimental filmmaker. He has won major literary prizes in the Philippines for his [ETPRYO] and fiction. He has worked as journalist, editor and broadcast director for the [IPPLNEHII] [CNTEER] [ORF] [INTVEISGTAEIV] [JOUNRASMLI] before moving to the United States. Some of his most celebrated works include My Sad Republic, People Are Strange, [RZOE] [YGVRIAT], and Flippin: Filipinos on America. He currently teaches at Columbia Universitys Center for [TCENTIHIY] and Race, and is also the Director of Institutional Giving at the Public Theater in New York City. B. FOCUS QUESTIONS Give the storyline highlighted in the poem. How did she deal with her husbands death? What was unusual about it? She wanted to possess her husband entirely. What did she do to fulfill such desire? What particular parts of her husbands dead body did she consume? Describe her gesture of eating. Comment/react on Juana La Locas communion ritual. Why did she ask the artists to record her love to her husband? Why art? Which art? What does the poem reveal about the nature of love? C. TEXTURED DISCUSSIONS STRUCTURALISM Words are not symbols; they are signs. SIGN=signifier/signified D. THE ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Love can unify life and death through romantic-spiritual communion. V. THREE DAYS TO SEE A. HELEN KELLER Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama , to Arthur Henley Keller and Kate Adams Keller. After being struck by illness, Helen lost both her sight and hearing. No one was ever sure as to what disease she had, but some people thought it was scarlet fever . Anne Sullivan arrived to Kellers residence, and started teaching Helen letters by signing into her hand ("manual sign language"). Anne made the "miracle" breakthrough, teaching Helen that everything had a name by spelling WA-T-E-R into Helen's hand as water flowed over her palm. Helen became a member of the freshmen class of 1904 at Radcliffe College. With the help of an editor, Helen wrote The Story of My Life. Helen became the first deaf-blind individual to earn a college degree, graduating with honors from Radcliffe. Helen joined the Suffragist movement, demanding the right to vote for women. Helen and Anne began their work with the American Foundation for the Blind. Helen, Anne, and Polly Thompson travelled abroad for the first time, visiting Scotland, Ireland, and England for over six months. This trip was only the beginning of Helen's travels overseas -- she would eventually visit 37 countries! Anne Sullivan Macy died. President Lyndon Johnson gave Helen the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Helen Keller died in her sleep. B. FOCUS QUESTIONS What type of essay is Kellers Three Days to See? How essential is the epicurean philosophy from Kellers viewpoint? According to the essay, a blind person can see. How? The essay posits that it is a blessing if every human being would be stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. How can blindness and deafness be a blessing? 5. Enumerate the many things that Keller would like to see in her three days of sight: a. First day b. Second day c. Third day The essay concludes with an admonition. According to Keller, how should one use his senses? C. THE ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Mans senses must capture the physicality and metaphysicality of things around him.

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VI. TONIGHT I CAN WRITE THE SADDEST LINES A. PABLO NERUDA In 1920, he adopted the pseudonym Pablo Neruda; he is thought to have named himself "Neruda" after the Czech poet [NAJ] [DRNUEA]. He wrote in a variety of styles such as surrealist and [RTIECO] love poems as in his collection, historical epics and overtly political manifestos. Neruda received numerous prestigious awards, including the International Peace Prize in 1950, the Lenin Peace Prize and the Stalin Peace Prize in 1953, and the [LNBOE] [ZPERI] for Literature in 1971. Colombian novelist [ELGRIAB] [CIAGAR] [QUEZMAR] once called him "the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language. He was diagnosed of [CCEARN] while serving a two-year term as ambassador to France, and died of leukemia in Santiago, Chile. He was diagnosed of [CCEARN] while serving a two-year term as ambassador to France, and died of leukemia in Santiago, Chile. B. FOCUS QUESTIONS Who is the speaker of the poem? Why is he crafting the saddest lines at night? Point out key liners and images that echo poetic tension highlighting the personas brokenheartedness, ambivalence and difficulty of detaching from his beloved. How is the absent beloved described in the poem? The reason of the breakup is not mentioned in the poem. What do you think caused the demise of their relationship? Explain the paradoxical nature of the line: Love is short; forgetting is long. Can writing be a form of healing? C. TEXTURED DISCUSSIONS PSYCHOANALYSIS Catharsis an emotional release the purification and purgation of emotions that results in renewal and restoration Feelings build up and create tension if not vented. Releasing emotions decreases the pressure or tension in the person so he would have fewer negative emotions and would become less aggressive. D. THE ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Catharsis is an effective panacea for deep emotional maladies. VII. IN A STATION OF THE METRO A. EZRA POUND Ezra Weston Loomis [ONPUD] was an American expatriate poet, critic and intellectual of the first half of the 20th century. He founded the [ISMGAIT] movement in American poetry which sought to modernize poetic language. He was greatly influenced by Chinese and [NEJPAASE] poetry. He championed the likes of T.S. [OELIT] , William Carlos Williams and James Joyce. B. TEXTURED DISCUSSIONS DECONSTRUCTIONISM (Key Figure: Jacques Derrida) emphasizes that a text says something other than what it appears to say. asserts that it is impossible for a text to have a single, stable meaning. posits that the author is displaced as absolute authority, and the reader plays a role in interpreting a text and developing meaning (as best as possible) from the text. D. THE ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Beauty comes in different forms or countenance. Beauty is ephemeral. Beauty is ephemeral, and so is life in general. Life always ends in death; however, from it springs or buds another life. Nothing lasts forever, and so does beauty or life. VIII. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY A. QUEEN is a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie [RMCEURY] (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar, guitars, vocals), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals).

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WHY QUEEN? I thought up the name Queen. Its just a name, but its very [GRALE] obviously, and it sounds splendid. Its a strong name, very universal and immediate. It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations. I was certainly aware of gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it. (Freddie Mercury) The band has released a total of 18 number one [SULAMB], 18 number one singles, and 10 number one DVDs, and have sold over 150 million albums, with some estimates in excess of 300 million albums, making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. The band was known for vocal [NIOHAMRES] and multi-tracking voices. Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, among others gave the band lasting international [NOITNCREOGI]. B. ABOUT THE SONG On Halloween of 1975, rock legend Queen, released their hit single, Bohemian Rhapsody, and it instantly held the charts as number one for 9 weeks upon release and became the UKs third best selling single of all time after Mercurys death. Freddie Mercury wrote the song, and there has been a lot of speculations as to its meaning. Mercury himself remain tight-lipped, and the band agreed not to reveal anything about the songs meaning. Its one of those songs which has a fantasy feel about it. I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them. -Freddie MercuryC. FOCUS QUESTIONS Describe the speaker. Single out the crime he committed. The speaker cared a lot about his mother. What did the former tell the latter as to the crime he committed? Explain what the speaker meant when he said: ..Goodbye, everybody, Ive got to go, Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth Establish relationship between the operatic arc of the song and th e speakers condition? What do last four lines reveal about the speaker? D. TEXTURED DISCUSSIONS QUEER THEORY is a philosophical investigation highly influenced by feminism. asserts that gender roles and sexuality are social constructs rather than an essential, inescapable part of our nature. explores the problematic nature of sexuality and sexual identity, and other topics such as crossdressing, gender ambiguity and gender-corrective surgery. How is the queer experience coded in the work? What does the work contribute to our knowledge of the queer experience? What does the work reveal about the problematics of sexuality and sexual identity? E. THE ENDURING UNDERSTANDING The monstrosity brought forth by the consequences of a negative choi ce can affect ones view of life and reality. Negative changes may be caused by internal and external forces over which we have limited control. Commission of inhuman acts results in ones alienation or isolation. One of the critical issues that plague man is the question of identity.