What could be more appropriate at this historical moment--perhaps long set of moments--than to read and discuss Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street?"
Part of the story's mystique is the opacity of Bartleby as a character. Melville forces us to imagine the details he does not provide via the narration. For this writing assignment, I'd like you to imagine that this story is set in the present: 2008. Imagine that one of the main reasons Bartleby is so distant and aloof is that he lives his entire life online--as a virtual "second life." Specifically what you must do is explain in detail what Bartleby's facebook page looks like and why. What are his favorites? Does he have friends, and, if so, who are they? If you could look at a backlist of his status when logging in, what would they say? You're invited to have fun and be creative with this, but try to link the rationale for his page elements to moments in the text itself if you can--moments that divulge or lead us into his character.
250-300 words.
No comments:
Post a Comment