Research Prompts for September 6

Research Prompt, No. 1

Bleak House: Backgrounds

Create a chart providing the following information:

Look through the documents included under the section heading 'Backgrounds' (beginning on page 897), which include subsections Government, Pollution, and Law Courts. After skimming through the information from these sections, focus on ten different documents found in 'Backgrounds'. For each document, present a summary of what it covers as well as a statement on what is interesting or useful about the document for the understanding of the novel. After preparing these notes, write a brief statement on how Bleak House qualifies under the goals of this course, laid out in the syllabus.

Email a digital copy of this chart to the instructor before the start of class: rtbarnha@ic.sunysb.edu

 

 

 

Research Prompt, No. 2

Bleak House:  History of the Text

Create a chart providing the following information:

Look though the sections entitled 'A Note on the Text' (773), 'Textual Notes' (815) and 'The Genesis and Composition of Bleak House' (881). What purpose do these sections serve? What work was involved in preparing these documents for this edition of the text? Present a list of ten points from these sections that add to your understanding or interest of Bleak House. Briefly remark on the following two questions: In general, what's the point of including these notes about the text's history? What added understanding does information about the text's history provide the close reader of a text?

Email a digital copy of this chart to the instructor before the start of class: rtbarnha@ic.sunysb.edu

 

 

 

Research Prompt, No. 3

Bleak House, Basic Overview

Create a chart with the following information:

1. Author?
2. Publisher? (original and current)
3. Publication date? (original and current) About how many editions of the text exist?
4. How many pages is the text?
5. How many sections is the book broken into?
6. Give a brief summary (50 words) of each chapter in today's reading assignment.
7. What are the main figures, or, who are the characters in the text?
8. From this information, what do you understand the Theme of the text to be?
9. What other information would you look for in the text to support this?

Email a digital copy of this chart to the instructor before the start of class: rtbarnha@ic.sunysb.edu