For your post assignment this weekend, I want you to select a brief passage from the novel’s second section of about 3 to 7 lines. This should be a passage that seems significant, strange, or problematic to you in some way. This passage, for example, might:

• Discuss or problematize issues of race and/or passing in some interesting way
• Reflect the historical context of the novel or relate to the historical newspaper articles we briefly discussed
• Reveal the key thoughts and characteristics of a particular character
• Provide a particularly rich description of a place or setting
• And more!

After typing out the passage in full, offer two paragraphs of analysis in which you explicate the passage and analyze its relation to the wider themes, ideas, and/or conflicts presented in the novel thus far. How, in short, is this passage significant to our understanding of Larsen’s Passing?

Complete your post assignment by Tuesday, April 5th, at 2 PM.

For this post assignment, I would like you to address ONE of the two following questions. (AGAIN: Do not answer both questions. Just answer the one that most interests you!) For whichever question you choose, please aim to respond in at least two full paragraphs and to include at least two meaningful, relevant quotations from the text.

Consider Othello’s fits of jealous rage in Acts 4 and 5. What, in your opinion, drives this rage? What drives Othello to become so angry that he strikes Desdemona before several other people (risking his “reputation” by doing so)? Do you think it is simply because he loved Desdemona and is heartbroken by the idea of her betrayal? Do you think he is upset because his masculine reputation as a soldier may possibly be undermined by the infidelity of his wife? Through Othello’s rage and violence, do you think Shakespeare shows Othello giving in to stereo-typically “savage” behaviors that were embedded in him all along? In other words, is the play encouraging us to assume that Othello was not as civilized and valiant as he appeared? Be specific, and be sure to provide at least two textual examples from the play.

OR

Consider the different portraits of womanhood and feminine agency provided to us through the characters of Emilia and Desdemona, particularly at the end of Act 4. How do their perspectives on womanhood differ? How do you think we are supposed to feel about Desdemona’s undying commitment to Othello? How are we supposed to feel about Emilia’s flippancy toward men generally, and Iago particularly? Are we supposed to pity Desdemona’s commitment to her husband? Admire it? Question it? Be specific, and be sure to provide at least two textual examples from the play.

SUBMIT THIS BY TUESDAY, 3/22, AT 2:00 PM

For your first post on Othello, you will be engaging in a straightforward close reading exercise.

In the spirit of treating Othello as a poetic work, I want you to choose a passage from Act 3 of about 4 to 6 lines. Type out the entirety of the passage and then analyze the quotation. In other words, speak about the language of the passage you choose and its significance to the action/meaning of the play. Think about word choice, metaphor, imagery, or other poetic devices and/or instances of interesting language use.

Your response should total at least 1 fully-developed paragraph (aim for at least 7 sentences).

Ensure you have completed your post assignment by Tuesday, 3/15, @ 2:00 PM.