Unit 3: Literature

Reading literature is different from reading textbooks, essays, or newspaper articles. Literature contains a different kind of information, of "truth," and requires a different reading approach.

As with the other materials we read, in order to support your ideas about what you've read, you're going to need to know the details of the story. A first step to knowing the details is to take notes.

There are many ways to take notes on stories. Some of them focus on the events; some, on the characters.

One way to take notes is to make a flowchart of the events in the story if the story is told chronologically.

"Masses of Men"

Hugh Miller worked for street railway company for 26 years.

Promised comfortable pension by company.

Hoped for promotion.

Didn't get it.

Told he'd have a pension one day when he retired.

Because this story shifts its focus from one character to another in the middle, you might want to reflect that shift in your notes.

Hugh Miller worked for street railway company for 26 years.
Promised comfortable pension by co.
Hoped for promotion.
Waited 12 years to marry Cora.
Married Cora.
Rented alley house.
Had three children.
Didn't get promotion.
Stopped talking.
Killed in workplace accident.
Body sent home.	Cora asked policeman for help.
	Cora worried she didn't have enough $ for burial and food.
Body buried in unknown spot.
	No $ from co. in a month.
	No one in co. had heard of Hugh.
	Cora went home.

You would go on in this way, making entries on Cora's side.

Another method organizes the information by the character, the information you have, and the conclusions you draw about him or her.

"Masses of Men"

Character	What s/he did	What s/he is like
Hugh	Worked for street railway company for 26 years; Promised comfortable pension; Hoped for promotion; After waiting 12 years, married Cora; Rented alley house; Fathered 3 children; Didn't get promotion; Stopped talking; Killed in work accident; Body sent home; Buried in unmarked grave; Company denied knowing of him.	Loyal worker Optimistic Responsible Depressed Unlucky Useless Unimportant Unappreciated
Cora

You would proceed in this way, writing about all of the characters and what you can conclude about them based on the information you are given about what they do, what they say, what they think, and what they look like.

Some people use mindmaps and make a separate circle for each character, writing next to the character everything you know about him or her. Others use outlines.

There are many other ways to take notes, too. The important thing to do is try to capture in writing and organize visually the important information you will need to know about a story.

Task #21

Read "Masses of Men" by Erskine Caldwell. Then take notes on it in a way that captures and organizes the information in the story. E-mail, fax, or hand it to me.