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syllabus ENGL298 Second Year Seminar: This Bridgewater Life

Need to be in touch with me? 
LEE TORDA
310 Tillinghast Hall
Bridgewater State University
508.531.2436
ltorda@bridgew.edu
www.leetorda.com
SPRING 2014 Office Hours
Monday: 3:30 to 4:30
Tuesday: 11:00 to 12:00
Friday: 1:00 to 2:00
and by appointment.
Lee Torda
Sample “GL” In-class Listening Notes

Story One:  Good Guy Discount story. From the start of this story, I was in agreement with the poor guy doing the asking: I don’t think that good guys ask for discounts. What I mean, what became clear was that the good guy discount was sort of a discount that people give other people—special other people. I think that real good guys take it on the chin, are team players, do things for other people. They don’t believe in preferential treatment. And our story teller proves that at the very end of the episode when he tells the story about eating cake with his son and father. A good guy gives you his last piece of cake.

Story Two: So what is wonderful and heartbreaking about the Mike Birbiglia is that when he is explaining what decent people do. It sort of goes along with what I say earlier—decent people don’t ask for discounts and they don’t ogle pretty women.  But Birbiglia is a good guy who wants credit, which, again, comes at the end when he is talking to his wife. She has that sweet line about marrying her, and he says that’s not enough. So he’s a good guy, but not a perfect guy. But we see here how much work it can be to be a good guy.

Story three: This guy dies trying to do right by another dead guy. I would not be such a good guy, but in the end, we learn that when the guys body comes up so does the body of the other guy. He finished what he set out to do. That’s a good guy thing to do.

Story four: weirdest most disturbing story. I don’t know that I trusted that narrator. I feel like he was sort of insincere. I can’t say why, but I felt that. Anyway, I would say that, thematically, while the idea of what a good guy is is developed throughout, it revolves around a question about whether or not wanting to kill someone makes you a good guy or a bad guy. What is the struggle is that he doesn’t just ant to kill guys in the war who are enemies, he wants to kill people. But he knows this is screwed up, but it doesn’t change that he wants this. Now, the story is larger than that. It’s about military attitudes generally, but, still, when it comes down to it. It’s a story about someone who knows what a good guy should do, but, also, doesn’t want to be a good guy entirely.

 

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  • Home
  • ENGL 226 policies
    • 226 Discussion Board space
    • ENGL 226 syllabus
    • ENGL 226 PORTFOLIO
    • ENGL 226 PARTNER INTERVIEW MINI-PAPER
    • ENGL226 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
    • 226 BLOG INFORMATION
    • ENGL 226 Writing Studies Timeline Project
    • ENGL 226 Professional Writing Project
    • ENGL 226 SUPER FAST CAREER PRESENTATIONS
    • ENGL 226 Writing As Art
  • Previously Taught Classes
    • ENGL 301 >
      • ENGL 301 SYLLABUS >
        • PARTNER INTERVIEW ENGL 301
      • ENGL 301 Discussion Board When We Need it
      • ENGL 301 PORTFOLIOS
      • ENGL 301 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 INTERVIEW WITH A TEACHER (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 BOOK CLUB (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 FLASH MENTOR TEXT MEMOIR (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (assignment) >
        • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (instructions & sample annotations)
      • ENGL 301 ASSIGNMENT DESIGN (assignment)
    • ENGL102 >
      • ENGL 102 Class Discussion Board
      • ENGL102SYLLABUS
      • ENGL102 PORTFOLIOS/Research Notebook
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Class Profile Page
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENTS: Reading Journals
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROJECT >
        • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: POSITIONING YOURSELF
        • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Locating & Evaluating part I
    • ENGL 202 BIZ Com >
      • ENGL 202 Business Writing SYLLABUS
    • ENGL 227 INTRO TO CNF WORKSHOP
    • ENGL 298 Second Year Seminar: This Bridgewater Life
    • ENGL406 RESEARCH IN WRITING STUDIES
    • ENGL 493 THE PERSONAL ESSAY
    • ENGL 493 Seminar in Writing & Writing Studies: The History of First Year Composition >
      • ENGL 493 Assignments: Annotated Bibliography & Presentation
    • ENGL 511 Reading & Writing Memoir
    • DURFEE Engl101
  • BSU Homepage