Week 10
Class Ground Rules
Read all the assignments before class.
Keep yourself on mute unless called on.
Raise your hands electronically.
Focus your comments only on the question at hand rather than straying to other parts of the story.
Discuss the author's story, not your own story.
Refrain from offering a review of the whole story or jumping to the end.
Try to support your comments by referring to details from the text.
Listen to and respond to others with respect.
READ (at least twice): "To Sunland" [story PDF posted below] (Published in The New Yorker, July 4, 2022 issue.)
A young woman takes her mentally disabled brother to an institution.
Think About:
The first section of the story and what we learn about Buddy.
The second section and what we learn about Joanie.
The narration, which is third person close, but shifts between close to Buddy and close to Joanie.
The bus trip, and the encounter with Ada Severin.
The walk to Sunland after the bus.
The ending.
Click on the top right corner of the story below for the full text.
“To Sunland,” by Lauren Groff | The New Yorker.pdf
Photographs of the Sunland Training Center (circa 1949)
So What Do We Think About Lauren Groff?
How would you rate her on:
Interesting characters
Engaging plots
Skillful language/descriptions
Narrative voice/perspective
Use of setting/atmosphere
Stories
The story you liked the most and why
The story you liked the least and why
Would you recommend Lauren Groff to others?
For each of these, think about examples from the text that support your feelings.
Purely Optional
Lauren Groff gives a sneak preview of her upcoming novel, The Vaster Wilds.
Link to Week 10 class recording: https://brandeis.zoom.us/rec/play/UA0g8ayxm-AoPnpNj6P5YOkaL--vnmwcBn_-UdMBTNpmgbrz4rgy0n2E32h_uw2uTnDnJ7VpnIdFPXBA.pW0D5LGwRVjfQTyO