Required readings:

Flannery O’Connor: Author Bio

Flannery O’Connor: “Good Country People”

Tim O’Brien: from “Going After Cacciato”- chapter 31 “Night March”

Joyce Carol Oates: Author Bio

Joyce Carol Oates: from “Blonde”

Theodore Roethke: “My Papa’s Waltz”

Answer should be based on the reading requirements of the week mentioned above.

Part One: Several of our works this week portray significant or complex relationships between characters. Choose one that stood out to you as particularly moving or engaging. Describe the relationship and explain its personal resonance with you.

Part Two: Research one of this week’s authors and tell us what about his or her biography struck you as being reflective of issues in the work. Be sure to cite all biographical information you report. (MLA)

Part Three: Post-modern work is sometimes ambiguous. In O’Brien’s story we meet a soldier who goes AWOL- he leaves his post and a squad of men is sent to find him. How do you think this story ends based on what you see in this short excerpt? What clues can you tease out of the chapter to give an indication of where this story might be headed? 

O’Brien’s work focuses on Cacciato before he becomes AWOL. Therefore, you are tasked with ‘guessing’ about what happens next after reading this short section. If you prefer, you can focus on why Cacciato says this at the end of the story: “You will. You got a terrific sense of humor”