http://blogs.middlebury.edu/russlit Just another blogs.middlebury.edu weblog Wed, 06 May 2009 15:51:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In the beginning we wondered: "Students and professors may and likely do have differing opinions on the content and form of a course on literature.  What are your expectations? What are you hoping to learn?" Re-read your original posts and those of your classmates, then briefly describe what you have ... http://blogs.middlebury.edu/russlit/2009/05/06/what-have-you-learned-from-this-literature-course/ One member of each group should describe in 25 words or less the project, provide a link or access to the project, identify all contributors and if possible indicate the major contributions of each to the final project. http://blogs.middlebury.edu/russlit/2009/05/06/project-summary/ Levin's visit to Anna has a striking effect on him, on Anna and on Kitty. You may choose to reflect on her power to impress people. Or you might examine her portrait. Finally, Tolstoi uses as he had in War in Peace his last pages to tell the reader what ... http://blogs.middlebury.edu/russlit/2009/04/29/this-is-the-way-the-world-ends-not-with-a-bang-but-a-whimper/ Tolstoi gets into everyone's mind, even Laska's-the dog. Yet each sees the world and events in a different light. Tolstoi sees the irony, hypocrisy, and superficiality of conventions-societal, religious, legal. He also employs a technigue called "defamiliarization" in which a common occurrence is presented from a unigue perspective so that ... http://blogs.middlebury.edu/russlit/2009/04/25/its-a-dogs-world/ There is lots of forgiving going around, but also haymowing, death anxiety, moth killing divorce lawyers, kids running wild, and the contrast of one family dissolving while another gets ready to tie the knot. And what about Vronsky's suicide attempt-Anna being pregnant-and so much more? Can anyone sum up this ... http://blogs.middlebury.edu/russlit/2009/04/22/forgive-and-forget/ Tolstoi builds his novel on contrasts and comparisons, Anna and Kitty, Vronsky and Levin, Petersburg and Moscow and many more. By bringing his main characters into contact with one another he highlights them for us the reader. Choose one of the comparisons-contrasts and comment on who emerges in a more ... http://blogs.middlebury.edu/russlit/2009/04/18/anna-karenina/ "But here begins a new account,... It might make  the subject of a new story." Write a 250 word proposal for this sequel suggesting a title and outlining the future of Raskolnikov. Be sure to make his final dream a central part of the action or serve as a central ... http://blogs.middlebury.edu/russlit/2009/04/14/so-they-were-resurrected-by-love/ The novel which begins with a simple murder turns into a melting pot of sub-plots: Sonya and redemption, Dunya and female courage, Svidrigailov and suicide, Porfiry and criminal investigation, Luzhin and exploitation, and even poor Raskolnikov and his search for meaning. So pick a plot and share your thoughts. http://blogs.middlebury.edu/russlit/2009/04/10/crime-and-slime/ Book Three steps outside of the world of Raskolnikov to include others. They are all trying to restore him to health, but as the doctor remarks, that requires identifying cause.  Does Raskolnikov's theory of the "extraordinary man" provide a clue? Does the theory stand up to careful scrutiny even if ... http://blogs.middlebury.edu/russlit/2009/04/08/saying-a-new-word/ Where does one begin? Is the novel a search for motive? What drives Raskolnikov? Is it simple arithmetic-kill the old lady and use the money for good? What is Sonya's response to economic despair? How close is this to a perfect crime? Does Raskolnikov care too much for others to ... http://blogs.middlebury.edu/russlit/2009/04/05/crime-and-punishment/