Tutorial: Stories, Story-Tellers, and Audiences: Marguerite of Navarre's Heptameron
Fall 2000
Ms. Dobbs

Dobbs Home Page

Office: Carnegie 205, ext. 3108
Office hours: M, T, W 3-4; Th 10:30-11; or by appointment

Description: This semester we will explore the art of narrative primarily by acting as an audience of close readers of the stories told by the story-tellers in Marguerite of Navarre's Heptameron. But at the end of the semester, you will be a story-teller yourself and part of the audience for your fellow students' stories. This tutorial will also especially develop your ability to take part in class discussions and to write arguments. A word about the latter: in order to write well, you need to know what you’re doing with language and rhetoric. You may already have a rough sense of how both work, but really knowing what you’re doing depends on having a more conscious understanding of the way the English language and arguments work. I’ve designed a series of explanations and exercises, which I’ve named "Dr. Syntax," in order to help you acquire that consciousness. The very first of the explanations lays out the area of linguistics known as syntax and provides the basis for all the subsequent explanations. In a nice connection back to the study of narrative, you’ll see that syntactic analysis in fact also provides the basis for that study.

Texts: Marguerite de Navarre, The Heptameron (H)
  Corbett & Finkle. The Little English Handbook, 8th edition (C&F)
  Dobbs. Dr. Syntax,

Requirements:
 
  • careful preparation of assignments. You should write brief notes on each of the stories we read and very full notes for the story or stories about which I’ve given you specific questions. Figure on a minimum of four hours of preparation per class.
A. Class Discussion
 
  • thoughtful participation in class discussions. The notes you’ve made in preparing should be sufficiently developed that they provide you with "talking points" in the discussion. Because participation in class discussions is central to our work, more than two absences from class will affect your final grade for participation (30% of final grade).
   
B. Writing (Be sure to see the note on writing below.)
 
  • three arguments, which are due in class and are designated on the syllabus by "Argument." (The first will count 5%; the others count for 10% each.)
 
  • one short story, due in my office 12/1 at noon (5%)
 
  • two writing exercise arguments. Please turn in two typed copies in class on the day each is due. These arguments are designated as "Writing" and should be included in your writing folder. (5%)
 
  • two in-class analyses of peers' writing exercises, designated by "In-Class Analysis." Include in your folder. (5%)
 
  • completion of readings in Corbett & Finkle and of written Dr. Syntax exercises; these latter may be handwritten, but are due in class. (5%)
 
  • completion of Academic Honesty Exercise (5%)
   
C. Oral Presentations
 
  • two individual 10-minute oral presentations: 1) of your third paper, and 2) of your story (5%)
 
  • presentation (10 minutes) as part of a panel on a joint research project; see page 18 of this packet. (evaluation includes both performance on panel and quality of content; 5%)
   
D. Examinations
 
  • quiz (10 minutes; class 2a) on definitions in Dr. Syntax: I Syntax (5%)
 
  • written examination (20 minutes; class 7b) on all material from Dr. Syntax and Corbett and Finkle (5%)

Writing. The three arguments, one story, and the two writing exercises are your original work; do not consult critical works, and do not discuss your work with any other student before turning it in. You may use reference resources, but you may not work with the instructors in the Writing Lab before turning a paper in. Papers are due in class and are not accepted if late. Proofread carefully! After your first argument, if you average more than three elementary errors (see "Abbreviations," further on in this packet, for what I consider elementary) per 250 words on the next two or on your story, your grade will be lowered one-third grade (e.g. A to A-). With your third argument, turn in a typed outline (thesis statement at the top of the page; each of the topic sentences as a separate item) of your argument.

Each time you turn in a piece of writing, enclose it in a soft-cover "writing folder," with your name and box number clearly printed on the front, which includes all previous papers, rewrites, writing exercises, and peer analyses.

If we decide after your first argument that it would be useful for you to take the next two to the Writing Lab before rewriting, please do the following:

1. On the day you turn in an argument, a) sign up for an appointment in the Writing Lab. Assume that I will return your argument within three days of your turning it in. Be sure to sign up immediately; the Lab gets booked quickly. Then, b) sign up for an appointment with me on a day following your Lab appointment.
   
2. During your appointment with a Lab instructor, go over your argument carefully. With all three arguments, attend especially to paragraph unity (topic sentence) and coherence (transitions); with the third argument, analyze the relation between thesis and topic sentences. If you have elementary mistakes, get them clarified and corrected during your meeting.
   
3. With the instructor, work out a specific, short rewriting assignment, one that you can do in a couple of hours. You might, for example, rewrite the introductory paragraph or a paragraph from the body of the argument, or you might write the outline for a revision.
   
4. During your appointment with me, we will go over your piece of rewriting. Bring that and your original to our meeting.

Whether you go to the Writing Lab before rewriting or not, it’s always best to do rewriting as soon as possible after I return a paper.

Academic Honesty: As in other courses at the College, you are responsible for following standards of academic honesty in all of your work for Tutorial. Consult the Student Handbook for the official statement of the College policy; attend carefully to our in-class discussion of the intellectual issues involved in academic honesty. If you have any questions about the meaning of the statement in the Handbook, see me immediately. For information on quotations and citations for written work in this course, see pages 10 and 11 of this packet.

WEEK ASSIGNMENT
     
  For The Heptameron readings, real all of the stories told on the day assigned and jot down some notes on each of them. The story/stories indicated in parenthesis should be closely analyzed in preparation for class discussion; as I noted under "Requirements," you’ll need some developed notes from which you can speak in class. In addition to assigning a story from each of the first four days, I've included a few suggestions and/or questions that you should prepare. By the stories of the fifth day, you'll be able to come up with these questions yourself.
     
8/24 Introduction to the course and discussion of excerpt from Italo Calvino
     
1 a) Introduction to analysis of short stories: "Telling Stories" (7-9 in this packet)
     
    H: "Introduction, 7-13, 27-37. Please don't read the rest of the introduction, until you've read at least the stories for the first few days.
    "Prologue." Look closely at what's established in the opening two paragraphs. What is the structure (similar to plot) in the "Prologue"? In what ways are the settings arranged in relation to one another?
    Introduction to Dr. Syntax
    C&F: 1-2; 18-19 (These are page numbers, not section numbers.)
     
  b) Dr. Syntax 1: Syntax
    C&F: 19-54 (Grammatical Sentences)
     
    Academic Honesty Discussion
     
    Suggested prewriting: write a brief story (500-1500 words). Don't spend a lot of time with this writing; just get something down. Keep working with it during the semester. A revised version of this story could be the draft of the story you’ll turn in at the beginning of Week 11.
     
2 a) H: "First Day" (#4, Ennasuite). What, in a sentence, is this story's subject and theme (theme = subject + a predicate)? Compare both to the subjects and themes of stories #3 and #5. Also analyze the structure of the action (plot) of #4.
     
    Quiz on definitions in Dr. Syntax 1: Syntax (10 minutes)
    Dr. Syntax: Syntactic Analysis Exercise 1
     
  b) Dr. Syntax 2: Kinds of Sentences and Punctuation
    C&F: 100-157 (Punctuation and Mechanics)
    Syntactic Analysis: Exercise 2
     
    Argument #1: In a paragraph of 150-250 words, argue for an analysis of the plot of Longarine's story (#8).
     
3 a) H: "Second Day" (#13, Parlamente). Describe the main characters individually and in relation to one another. Analyze the function of the ring (motif) in the story.
    Pick one of the story-tellers and follow closely what stories he/she tells and how he/she reacts to other stories. During classes 7b and 10a, you will present an analysis of your story-teller.
     
     
    Academic Honesty Exercise due. The instructions ask for paragraphs; please just write a few sentences.
     
  b) Dr. Syntax 3: The Function of Word Order in English & Parallel Structure
    C&F 72-75 (Parallel Construction)
    Dr. Syntax 4: Transitions Within Sentences
    Syntactic Analysis: Exercise 3
     
    Writing #1: In a paragraph of 150-250 words, write an argument about the function of tests in Hircan's story (#18).
     
    In-Class Analysis #1: Using a form I give you, do an careful analysis of a peer's "Writing #1." I’ve included an example of the form further on in this packet.
     
4 a) H: "Third Day" (#26, Saffredent). Think carefully about plot and character. Is the story really about (subject and theme) what Saffredent claims it is?
     
    Dr. Syntax 5: The Topic Sentence
    C&F: 4-13 (Clear, Effective Paragraphs: Unity and Completeness)
     
  b) Dr. Syntax 6: Transitions Between Sentences
    Excerpt from Fahnstock, "Semantic and Lexical Coherence" (13-15 this packet)
    C&F: 13-17 (Clear, Effective Paragraphs: Coherence)
     
    Argument #2: In a 500-word paragraph, argue for comparison and/or contrast in the function of the ham pie (#28, Simontaut) and the winnowing basket (#29, Nomerfide).
     
5 a) H: "Fourth Day" ((#37, Dagoucin and #38, Longarine). Compare these two stories. What are their subjects and themes? How are the plots similar to and different from one another? How do these differences reflect/relate to differences in the characters of the two women and to differences in our sense, as audience, of the kind of story each is?
     
    Deadline for choosing to do paper #3 and the oral presentation based on that paper at 6b or 10b.
     
  b) H: "Fourth Day" (#36, Ennasuite). On first reading, did you find that the story prepared you for the final action? If so, how? If not, what is the effect of this unexpectedness? Also if not, as you reread the story, do you find hints of what is to come at the end?
    Dr. Syntax 7: The Thesis Statement
     
6 a) Dr. Syntax 8: The Outline (Be sure to look back to Dr. Syntax 7.)
    Dr. Syntax 9: The Order and Structure of an Argument
     
    Instructions for oral presentations. Be sure to have read the checklist on oral presentations in this packet.
     
    Deadline for turning in your first and second choices for research topic on an index card.
     
  b) Argument #3: Write 750-1000 words arguing a comparison and/or contrast between Parlamente's stories #21 and #40 on the grounds of the patterning/functioning of a single element (character, plot, setting, narrator, language).
    Outline due
    Oral presentations
     
7 a) Review of Dr. Syntax and C&F. In preparation for this review, you should go back over the material from both. Come in with any questions you have and be prepared for a kind of oral quiz in which I’ll ask you to do a sight analysis, for instance, of the syntax in selected sentences, of kinds of sentence, of semantic transitions within and between sentences, and of subject and lines of argument in selected thesis statements.
    C&F: 55-99 (Stylistic Choices: Sentences and Words)
     
  b) Dr. Syntax and C&F exam (20 minutes)
     
    Panels for research projects announced.
     
    Looking back over the stories of the first four days, think about the questions in "Telling Stories" which have to do with narrators/story-tellers. I'd like our discussion to focus on the characters of the frame story. You will be asked to present an analysis of the story-teller you’ve been following.
     
8 a) H: "Day Five" (#49, Hircan)
    Work with your research panel to subdivide your topic. At the end of class, turn in the subtopic you will cover for the panel on the topic index card I’ve returned to you.
     
  b) Writing #2: In a paragraph of 150-250 words, argue something about silence in Dagoucin's story #47. You may, if you want, argue specifically about the wife’s silence. Think not only about the obvious situations in which the text explicitly says that a character is silent, but also those in which a character is told not to talk and those in which the narrator doesn't directly, in dialogue, give us the words of a character. You might find it useful--in your thinking--to compare #47 with #49.
     
    In-Class Analysis #2: of a peer's "Writing #2." See instructions at 3b.
     
9 a) H: "Day Six" (#52, Simontaut and #59, Longarine)
    C&F 158-178 (Research Writing and Documentation)
    8:45 AM: Library Research Session I (Catherine Rod, Associate Librarian of the College)
     
  b) Work on your research project.
     
10 a) H: "Days Seven and Eight" (#70, Oisille)
    Let’s again consider the characters of the frame story. You will be asked to continue the analysis of your character that you began in class 7b.
     
    9:00 AM: Library Research Session II (Catherine Rod)
     
  b) Argument #3: In 750-1000 words, argue for a comparative analysis of either the meaning of a motif (e.g. food, dance, mirrors, doors, windows, fire) or the use of a kind of plot structure (e.g. "trickster tricked") which is found in at least two, but no more than three, stories. Try to avoid ground covered in class discussions or previous papers.
    Outline due
    Oral presentations
     
11 Monday: first draft of your story (500 words minimum), which will be your fourth paper, is due in my office by noon. If you wish, sign up for a conference to discuss that story before you begin revising it for final submission on Friday of Week 13. Further on in this packet, you’ll find the evaluation form I use for stories. You might want to look carefully at it before turning in your final version of your story.
     
  a) Preregistration conferences
     
  b) Preregistration conferences
     
12 a) During class session, each panel will work out the details of its panel presentation, choose an order for presentation, and appoint a moderator.
    You might want to look at the "Evaluation of Research Project and Presentation" which I’ve included in this packet. You may then go off and complete work on your part of the research project.
     
  b) Thanksgiving!
     
13 a) Panel presentations of research project
    Typed list of "Works Consulted" for your subtopic in the research project is due in class. Put your name, topic, and subtopic at the top of the list; follow the forms set out in Corbett and Finkle for "Works Cited" (179-82).
     
  November 29, 4:15 Tutorial Tea at 1402 Summer Street
     
  b) Panel presentations of research
     
  Your story, your fourth paper, is due in my office by Friday 12/1 at noon.
     
14 a) Story-telling, i.e. oral presentation of paper #4
     
  b) More story-telling