Use for Man's Search for Meaning and "Gooseberries" in English 1A

English 1A

1. Bartleby
2. Show how the life lessons in Man's Search for Meaning explain the demise of Nikolai from Chekhov's "Gooseberries."
3. Acting Out Culture
4. Acting Out Culture
5. Aciting Out Culture (research paper on upward mobility as a myth or a Faustian Bargain)

Comparing Man's Search for Meaning and "Gooseberries," consider that Nikolai has no ideal other than being a false god; he has no higher purpose other than to find comfort and hedonism; he avoids conflict, the very thing Frankl says fulfills us. By hiding from life, he is like the servant in the story Death in Tehran. 

English 1C

1. Based on a comparison of the stories "The Overcoat" and "Winter Dreams," write an extended definition of "being unhinged." Have a long lecture on extended definitions.
2. Develop an analytical thesis that shows how Joseph Epstein's "The Perpetual Adolescent" explains the characters' demise in the selected stories of James Lasdun's It's Beginning to Hurt.  Use "The Natural Order," "The Half Sister," "An Anxious Man," "The Incalculable Life Gesture," and "Caterpillars." Students should use at least 2 stories. 
3. Develop an analytical thesis about the demon homunculus as a coping mechanism gone awry from Updike's short story anthology. 
4. Develop an argumentative essay about the worth of college and other trending topics.