In-class post for April 25

Hello All,

For this blog, post the introduction to your critique!

King Lear: What's the Point?

Like all great works of literature, King Lear exists not to provide answers, but rather to ask questions . . .

Respect: How should we show it? What happens if we don't have it? How far should we go to get it?
Loyalty: To whom should we be loyal? How should we show it? What should be its limits?
Power: What are the best means of achieving/keeping/demonstrating it?
Justice: What is a "just" outcome? How can we best reach that ideal? When should we settle for something less? When does justice become revenge?
Death: Does death negate life's achievements?
Truth: What is truth? How can we know it? When is deception justified?

Your homework for Monday is to write two body paragraphs:

1st paragraph: critique one character as representative of a specific position or persona. (For example, critique Lear as king, as father, as friend, and so on).
2nd paragraph: critique on mistake that character makes. Explain why that decision is a mistake, and explain why he or she makes that mistake.

Decisions, Decisions

Lear
What kind of a King was Lear?
Why does Lear choose to retire? Why doesn't he just remain king until death?
Why does Lear choose to divide his kingdom instead of keeping it intact/coherent?
Why does Lear stage his test to prove his daughter's worthiness for that kingdom?
Why does he get so angry with Cordelia's response/answer?
Why does he not see through Kent's disguise?
Why does he maintain his kingly tone of superiority even after he retires?
Why does he feel the need to maintain his entourage of knights?
Why is he so stubborn? Why does he get so angry when people question his choices?
Why doesn't he try to take back his kingdom?
Why does he "go crazy"?
Why does he like to have the fool around so much?

Cordelia
Why doesn't she give a "good" answer to Lear's test?
Why does she feel the need to be so blunt? so honest?
How has she treated Lear in the past? Has she always been so honest?
Why isn't she already married?
Why does she accept exile so readily?
How does she feel about her sisters? Why isn't she as close to them as they are to each other?
Why is/was she Lear's favorite?
Why doesn't she try to seize power immediately with France?
Why does she go to war instead of just taking Lear with her to France?

Goneril & Regan
Why are they so close to each other (at first)?
Why do they play along with Lear's test/game?
Why are they distant from Cordelia?
Why do they refuse Lear's entourage?
Why aren't they more understanding of Lear's antics (his entourage and his attitude)?
Why do they evict him from their homes?
Why do they refuse others from offering him sanctuary/shelter?
Why are they so ambitious?
Why are they so violent? Why are they so good at killing?
Why are they so dominant and aggressive?
Why are they so attracted to Edmund?

Kent
Why does he feel the need to speak up? Why doesn't he just keep quiet?
Why does he come back? Why doesn't he just leave?
How did he become this close to Lear?
Why does he stay true to Cordelia?
Why doesn't he try to overthrow Goneril and Regan?

Edmund
Why does he plot against his brother and father?
Why does he choose this method (the forged letter) for his deception?
Why is he so sensitive to the "bastard" label?
Why does he deceive? Why is he so good at it?
Why does he want power so much?

Edgar
Why does he trust his brother?
Why doesn't he try to stay in contact with others?
Why does he hide? Why does he choose his specific disguise?
What is his plan?
Why does he maintain his disguise for so long?
Why does he seem active at the end and not the beginning?
Why does he help his father "kill himself"?

Gloucester
Why is he so loyal to Lear?
Why does he risk his life to give Lear shelter?
Why does he treat Edumund so poorly?
Why does he believe Edmund's deception so quickly?
Why does he try to kill himself?

Lear Question and Answer

For this blog, post the answers to the questions about the behavior/motivation/psychology of Lear, Cordelia, Goneril & Regain, Kent, Edmund, Edgar, and Gloucester.

Homework for April 20

For this entry, post two quotes from Being Wrong (one from chapter 12 and one from 13) that apply to the error or mistake your character (or another character) made in King Lear.

King Lear (Rashomon Style!)

Hello All,

For today's in-class blog, retell King Lear through the eyes of one character. Describe the actions and plot as this character sees it, with commentary.

Malcolm Gladwell

Hello All,
As we discussed in class, the annotated bibliography for the Malcolm Gladwell article is due April 22.
Here are the articles from which to choose:
1. Open Secrets: Enron, Intelligence, and the Perils of too Much Information
2. Million-Dollar Murray: Why Problems like Homelessness May Be Easier to Solve Than to Manage
3. The Picture Problem: Mammography, Air Power, and the Limits of Looking
4. Connecting the Dots: The Paradoxes of Intelligence Reform
5. The Art of Failure: Why Some People Choke and Others Panic
6. Blowup: Who Can Be Blamed for a Disaster like the Challenger Explosion? No One, and We'd Better Get Used to It
7. Blowing Up: How Nassim Taleb Turned the Inevitability of Disaster into an Investment Strategy
8. How David Beats Goliath: When Underdogs Break the Rules

Post for Monday, April 18

Hello All,

As we discussed in class, we can discuss these characters according to their different personas or positions. For example, we can evaluate Lear as a king, father, leader, friend, judge, or person. Each of these positions requires separate (but sometimes overlapping) qualities: for example, a king should be wise and perceptive.

Choose a character, and list the various positions he or she holds. Divide and classify the various qualities each position requires. Then, write a short paragraph in which you . . .

1. Name that quality.
2. Define that quality.
3. Explain the significance/importance of that quality.
4. Describe/evaluate how well your character meets that standard.
5. Find a quote (from King Lear) that illustrates or exemplifies how well your character possesses or lacks that trait.

In-Class Post for April 13

Hello All,

For this post, write a short paragraph in which you analyze the errors in the first act of King Lear:
What types of errors do the characters commit?
What causes them to be wrong? What has led them to make these errors?
What effect do these mistakes have on others?
What effect do these mistakes have on the person making them?

Your analysis must use three quotes from chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, or 11 of Kathryn Schulz's Being Wrong:

one quote should be introduced with a simple introductory phrase;
one quote should be introduced with an independent clause and colon;
one quote should have pieces integrated into your own sentence.

Post for Wednesday, April 13

Hello All,

This blog should be easy:
1. Name the interview you plan on using from Kathryn Schulz's The Wrong Stuff.

2. Name the independently required text you plan on reading and using for the research paper:

Tugend, Alina. Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong

Burton, Robert Alan. On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not

Shore, Zachary. Blunder: Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions

Tavris, Carol. Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts

Gilovich, Thomas. How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life

Kida, Thomas. Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking

Van Hecke, Madeleine L. Blind Spots: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things

Ariely, Dan. The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home

Brafman, Ori. Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior

Freedman, David. Wrong: Why Experts* Keep Failing Us--and How to Know When not to Trust Them

Sandage, Scott. Born Losers: A History of Failure in America

Hallinan, Joseph. Why We Make Mistakes

Heffernan, Margaret. Willfull Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril

Post for Monday, April 11

Hello All,

For this entry, post quotes, pages, or sections from Being Wrong that relate to your specific field or discipline (or fields/disciplines).

Enjoy your weekend!

Syntax (April 8)

For this in-class assignment, post a quote (with page number) of an example from Being Wrong of each type of sentence:

simple
compound
complex
compound-complex

Being Wrong 111-180

Once again, choose a quote that you find meaningful: give the quote and your explanation of its significance.