Darwin (II)

25 Março 2020, 16:00 • Bernardo Manzoni Palmeirim

Feedback on first homework assignment

25 Março 2020, 08:00 • EDUARDA MELO CABRITA

Individual feedback has been provided with regard to character construction in 'Cat in the rain'
General feedback has also been provided, as follows

First, let me say how much  I appreciated the way most of you addressed character construction in your essays in that it revealed a good reading of the short story.

I could not help but notice, however, that most of you have left out at least a key aspect of the wife's and husband's character construction, i.e. their nationality. 

Nationality plays a very important role in this story. It is often mentioned  (e.g. 'the American wife,'  'the American girl'  - yet never the American husband - , 'the two Americans', 'Italians') and it is pivotal in indirect character construction particularly through the use of interiorised stereotypes (American - maybe less affectionate, more prone to  feelings of dissatisfaction - vs. Italians (maybe more gregarious and affectionate). Stereotyping is a case in point of shared knowledge used here to indirectly construct character profiles. In this short story, what is left out or only hinted at is as important as what is clearly stated.

Another example of indirect characterisation can be found in the first two paragraphs (e.g. 'the public garden', 'the war monument'), hinting at the setting and providing a time-frame to the story (WWI, Italy).

With regard to the difference between writer and narrator, since we have repeatedly addressed this in class, I was hoping it would be quite clear by now. As that does not seem to be the case for all, please read the article 'Narrators and Narrative Situation' as it contains basic elements that you should all be aware of. This article is quite long so I would suggest focussing on the first pages (up to the end of 'Focalisation') where I highlighted some important aspects. If you are interested, please check the bibliographical references, as they may prove quite helpful in future assignments.

Note that this text was downloaded from a German university site and that as such you may come across some German references.

On a different note, some students revealed consistent difficulties both in spelling and grammar (e.g. genitive, the use of contracted forms, the use of 'a' versus 'an', etc.).

I have provided individual feedback on these issues but suggest you all check the notes attached to my email so as to avoid  errors in future homework assignments as they reflect poorly on your work at C2 level.

The following links for self study may also prove to be helpful. 

Like vs. as if:  https://www.grammarbank.com/as-if-as-though.html
Like vs. as:  https://www.grammarbank.com/like-vs-as-grammar.html  

Nouns: countable-uncountable: 

https://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-countable-uncountable-nouns.php

This-these-that-those

https://agendaweb.org/grammar/demonstratives-this-that-these-those-exercises.html It 

or 

this: https://www.grammar-quizzes.com/it-this.html

Apostrophe S (possessive case): 

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_52.htm

Darwin (I)

23 Março 2020, 16:00 • Bernardo Manzoni Palmeirim

[não presencial - Zoom]

Character construction in "Cat in the Rain" by Hemingway

23 Março 2020, 08:00 • EDUARDA MELO CABRITA

Providing individual feedback on the first assignment (Character construction in "Cat in the Rain" by Hemingway)

Appropriation WE - Greek gods

18 Março 2020, 16:00 • Bernardo Manzoni Palmeirim