RESOURCES FOR TEACHING
Approaching Literature
Reading + Thinking + Writing
Third Edition
Peter Schakel
Hope College
Jack Ridl
Hope College
Bedford/St. Martin’s Boston ◆ New York
Schakel/Ridl3e.indd 1 10/16/11 7:45 AM
, Copyright © 2012, 2008, 2005 by Bedford/St. Martin’s
All rights reserved.
Instructors who have adopted Approaching Literature, Third Edition, as a
textbook for a course are authorized to duplicate portions of this manual
for their students.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
6 5 4 3 2 1
f e d c b a
For information, write: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 75 Arlington Street, Boston,
MA 02116 (617-399-4000)
ISBN: 978-0-312-61917-6
Schakel/Ridl3e.indd 2 10/16/11 7:45 AM
, Preface
Aims and Approaches
The heart of Approaching Literature, and the central purpose of its
authors, is to help students discover what lies within the world of literature,
to build their confidence in responding to literary works, to lead them to a
variety of ways to interact with individual stories, poems, and plays, and to
help them find the worthwhile pleasure that can come from reading and
responding to works. The approach and explanations are intended to alert
and inform students about the basic aspects of literature in a tone that is
engaging, thoughtful, and inviting.
Entry Points
This manual does not provide a reading of each work in mini-essay form,
as some manuals do. Our fear is that such little essays run the danger of
becoming authoritative interpretations of a text and tempt instructors to
turn classes into ways of getting such a reading across to the students, either
by presenting it through lecture or by arriving at it through a set of guided
questions. The reader-response approach used in this book runs against such
predetermined conclusions about the work or the class. Instructors don’t
need authoritative readings: They too will want to arrive at their own posi-
tions, preferably through interaction with their students.
Of more value to instructors are “entry points,” suggestions for ways to
get at the key questions and issues a text raises and to introduce a work suc-
cessfully in class. Often, having a successful class turns on having a few good
questions or topics for discussion. Other questions or topics can then flow
out of those as the class proceeds. This manual gives for each work several
such entry points, varied ideas that work in class. They are a healthy
reminder, for instructors and students alike, that there are many ways of
opening up a work, many ways of entering it besides the usual “What does
it mean?” or “What is it about?”
Starters
Beginnings are difficult, whether in writing or in opening a class discus-
sion. In keeping with its focus on being basic and practical, this manual
iii
Schakel/Ridl3e.indd 3 10/16/11 7:45 AM
, iv Preface
offers “starters” for each selection contained in the elements chapters. A
starter may be a “watch for this as you read”–type assignment to give to
students as homework or an activity to focus their attention as they arrive at
class. Some starters will work better than others, of course, or will suit one
instructor better than another, but all are ones that we have used. They are
offered in part to stimulate your thinking and help you come up with better
ideas yourself.
Provocative Pairings
For each selection in Approaching Literature, this manual suggests at least
one pairing — thematic or stylistic — with another work in the book. Pairings
can be used for teaching — looking at similarities and differences between
two works can be a helpful way of noticing important aspects of both — and
can be used for exercises and paper topics. In almost every case, many more
pairings could be suggested for each work, and often you will want to create
your own instead of using ours. We’ve tried to foreground ones that we
found provocative and illuminating but encourage you to pair works in your
own interesting ways.
Sustained Themes
The emphasis on diversity in the choice of selections in the book leads
naturally into several themes — borders, voices, and outsiders — that can be
traced in a sustained way throughout a course. In organizing the book, bor-
ders was the particular focus in the section on fiction, voices in the section
on poetry, and outsiders in the section on drama. But each theme is present
in all three sections, and the three are closely interrelated.
BORDERS The first sustained theme is borders. Political borders separate
and divide one country and its people from another. The dividing line may
be artificial, but the differences and alienation created can be very real. The
border on a page, a piece of fabric, a carpet, or a section of property defines
its space and creates a sense of inclusion and exclusion. Borders can also be
used metaphorically for whatever beliefs, attitudes, or ideas define, divide, or
alienate people (old and young, parents and children, one ethnic group from
another, and so on). Many of the works selected for Approaching Literature
deal with literal borders: streets, walls, fences, or whatever physical barriers
separate, restrict, or contain people. Others deal with metaphorical borders
that divide or constrict.
The world in the twenty-first century must deal with the issue of borders,
in part by recognizing that borders are not just lines of division and separa-
tion — they also provide points of meeting. A political border is where two
countries abut and where their people can encounter and engage with each
other. Most borders have crossing points where exchange and interaction
can take place. The world in the twenty-first century, more than ever, needs
to have borders crossed (if they can’t be eliminated entirely). People need to
Schakel/Ridl3e.indd 4 10/16/11 7:45 AM
Approaching Literature
Reading + Thinking + Writing
Third Edition
Peter Schakel
Hope College
Jack Ridl
Hope College
Bedford/St. Martin’s Boston ◆ New York
Schakel/Ridl3e.indd 1 10/16/11 7:45 AM
, Copyright © 2012, 2008, 2005 by Bedford/St. Martin’s
All rights reserved.
Instructors who have adopted Approaching Literature, Third Edition, as a
textbook for a course are authorized to duplicate portions of this manual
for their students.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
6 5 4 3 2 1
f e d c b a
For information, write: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 75 Arlington Street, Boston,
MA 02116 (617-399-4000)
ISBN: 978-0-312-61917-6
Schakel/Ridl3e.indd 2 10/16/11 7:45 AM
, Preface
Aims and Approaches
The heart of Approaching Literature, and the central purpose of its
authors, is to help students discover what lies within the world of literature,
to build their confidence in responding to literary works, to lead them to a
variety of ways to interact with individual stories, poems, and plays, and to
help them find the worthwhile pleasure that can come from reading and
responding to works. The approach and explanations are intended to alert
and inform students about the basic aspects of literature in a tone that is
engaging, thoughtful, and inviting.
Entry Points
This manual does not provide a reading of each work in mini-essay form,
as some manuals do. Our fear is that such little essays run the danger of
becoming authoritative interpretations of a text and tempt instructors to
turn classes into ways of getting such a reading across to the students, either
by presenting it through lecture or by arriving at it through a set of guided
questions. The reader-response approach used in this book runs against such
predetermined conclusions about the work or the class. Instructors don’t
need authoritative readings: They too will want to arrive at their own posi-
tions, preferably through interaction with their students.
Of more value to instructors are “entry points,” suggestions for ways to
get at the key questions and issues a text raises and to introduce a work suc-
cessfully in class. Often, having a successful class turns on having a few good
questions or topics for discussion. Other questions or topics can then flow
out of those as the class proceeds. This manual gives for each work several
such entry points, varied ideas that work in class. They are a healthy
reminder, for instructors and students alike, that there are many ways of
opening up a work, many ways of entering it besides the usual “What does
it mean?” or “What is it about?”
Starters
Beginnings are difficult, whether in writing or in opening a class discus-
sion. In keeping with its focus on being basic and practical, this manual
iii
Schakel/Ridl3e.indd 3 10/16/11 7:45 AM
, iv Preface
offers “starters” for each selection contained in the elements chapters. A
starter may be a “watch for this as you read”–type assignment to give to
students as homework or an activity to focus their attention as they arrive at
class. Some starters will work better than others, of course, or will suit one
instructor better than another, but all are ones that we have used. They are
offered in part to stimulate your thinking and help you come up with better
ideas yourself.
Provocative Pairings
For each selection in Approaching Literature, this manual suggests at least
one pairing — thematic or stylistic — with another work in the book. Pairings
can be used for teaching — looking at similarities and differences between
two works can be a helpful way of noticing important aspects of both — and
can be used for exercises and paper topics. In almost every case, many more
pairings could be suggested for each work, and often you will want to create
your own instead of using ours. We’ve tried to foreground ones that we
found provocative and illuminating but encourage you to pair works in your
own interesting ways.
Sustained Themes
The emphasis on diversity in the choice of selections in the book leads
naturally into several themes — borders, voices, and outsiders — that can be
traced in a sustained way throughout a course. In organizing the book, bor-
ders was the particular focus in the section on fiction, voices in the section
on poetry, and outsiders in the section on drama. But each theme is present
in all three sections, and the three are closely interrelated.
BORDERS The first sustained theme is borders. Political borders separate
and divide one country and its people from another. The dividing line may
be artificial, but the differences and alienation created can be very real. The
border on a page, a piece of fabric, a carpet, or a section of property defines
its space and creates a sense of inclusion and exclusion. Borders can also be
used metaphorically for whatever beliefs, attitudes, or ideas define, divide, or
alienate people (old and young, parents and children, one ethnic group from
another, and so on). Many of the works selected for Approaching Literature
deal with literal borders: streets, walls, fences, or whatever physical barriers
separate, restrict, or contain people. Others deal with metaphorical borders
that divide or constrict.
The world in the twenty-first century must deal with the issue of borders,
in part by recognizing that borders are not just lines of division and separa-
tion — they also provide points of meeting. A political border is where two
countries abut and where their people can encounter and engage with each
other. Most borders have crossing points where exchange and interaction
can take place. The world in the twenty-first century, more than ever, needs
to have borders crossed (if they can’t be eliminated entirely). People need to
Schakel/Ridl3e.indd 4 10/16/11 7:45 AM
