Part 1: (Monday—Thursday) In your initial post, identify the short story that yo

Part 1: (Monday—Thursday)
In your initial post, identify the short story that you found most interesting, surprising, or disturbing and provide a brief (one to three sentence) explanation. Then select one of the discussion questions to begin a closer examination of the texts in your initial post. In follow up posts throughout the remainder of the week, respond to your colleagues and explore as many of the remaining discussion starter questions as possible.
Consider the significance of the titles of our collection of short stories. What expectations do they raise for readers? Which of the titles reveal multiple layers of meaning once readers engage with short stories?
The short stories “A Piece of Steak” and “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” take readers into worlds in which the protagonists have little control over their lives. What is the dominant impression readers take away from these stories about the communities in which our protagonists find themselves?
Consider the hunger artist whose art is to deny himself the pleasure of food. The narrator offers us a couple of different explanations to help us understand the artist’s motivation. Is he in the tradition of Plato trying to reach a state of enlightenment that can only be achieved through the denial of earthly pleasures or is the hunger artist a lost soul who is unable to enjoy the pleasures food and life have to offer?
Updike’s “A&P” offers us a glimpse at a modern-day paradise–a grocery store in which many culinary delights await the shoppers. Examine this paradise in more detail to identify the forces that lead to the downfall of our protagonist. What parallels can we draw between the fairy tale Snow White and the symbolism of the apple that signals Snow White’s entrance into adulthood and Sammy’s initiation into adulthood? Which of the foods in the “A&P” replaces the apple as a symbols of losing childhood’s innocence once he becomes initiated into the mysteries of adulthood?
Complete Part 1 by Thursday 11:59 PM. Remember to keep the initial and all follow-up contributions focused and concise in a paragraph of two to invite dialogue that allows us to develop a thoughtful analysis that considers multiple perspectives and responses. Provide brief references or direct quotations to a particular passage that is central to your contribution.
Part 2: (Thursday—Sunday)
Respond to the Odes that celebrate the poet’s native Chile as well as the film Julie and Julia. What stands out to you about the collections of odes and the film. Then engage with one of the discussion questions below to begin the analysis of the film and odes:
Which of the odes engaged your imagination or intrigued you the most? Identify specific images, lines, or references in a short 3 to 5 sentence response. Then engage in conversation with colleagues to examine two additional odes to analyze the imagery, symbolism, language, and allusions Neruda uses to give each ode its distinctiveness.
Julie and Julia could not be any more different. What is each woman’s interest in food and what motivates each to master classical French dishes? Are these simply generational differences or is there something larger that helps us to understand each woman’s quest?
How does the camera influence how our perceptions of the title characters? Which character do you find more interesting? Why?
Julia and Julie live in very different worlds. Julia is well-traveled and grew up in a very formal time while Julie seems to prefer the more informal that characterizes much of life at the end of the late 20th century.
What role does the film suggest classical French cuisine plays in the late 20th and early 21st centuries?
Several of our works have referenced and celebrated classical French cuisine. What does this film add to our inquiry that helps us to understand the influence and appeal of what is perhaps the most celebrated of cuisines?