Instructions for posting your answers to Discussion Questions are as follows:
Please provide your in-depth interpretation and analysis on the questions (at least 100 words per Discussion question #1, #2, and #3). Please try to include textual evidence (direct quotes along with the Act and Scene #) in your answer.
When you need to summarize the plot, please do not copy words/sentences from the text. You should briefly summarize/paraphrase the plot in your own words.
After posting your answers to discussion questions, please read other classmates' posts and add your comments and your thoughts. Please REPLY to two posts per Session (Tuesday and Thursday Sessions, not per Question) and make class discussions more interactive. Please try not to respond to discussion posts that are already commented on by two other classmates. I will enter your participation points in class discussions at the end of the semester.
The maximum point you can get per question will be 5 points, and class discussion questions for each session (Tuesday and Thursday sessions) will be counted as a total of 15 points. I will grade each answer based on the extent to which you address each question with a detailed and insightful analysis. Please note that answering a question without any meaningful interpretation and copying sentences from the text will get a zero point.
You would not be able to see other classmates' posts before you post. Please note that it takes several hours in reading the assigned text and completing discussion questions. Please give yourself enough time to answer the questions and participate in class discussions before the deadline (not two-three hours before the deadline). Your problem with access to the internet cannot be used as an excuse. The discussion site will be closed after the deadline, 11:59 pm (*There are no make-ups for missed discussion questions.)
Please click REPLY to put your answers to the discussion questions.
*Note: I put points (15 points) on Discussion Question #1; this does not mean that question #1 is only graded. I did it for the sake of keeping the grade book less crowded. Although you see that discussion question #1 only is shown as graded (15 points), each discussion question (#1, 2, and #3 ) equally counts 5 points. In other words, the total points for three discussion questions per session will be 15 points.
Discussion Question #1 for Flaubert's "A Simple Heart" (1877, pp. 450-455)
Why does Monsieur Bourais frequently visit Madam Aubain and what does he do for her? When Felicite asks M. Bourais to show her the house where Victor is living while they are looking at the map, he laughs because "a simplicity like hers was a positive joy" (446). What do you make of M. Bourais's reaction to Felicite? What does he mean by her "simplicity" here? After Victor's death, Felicite becomes attached to the parrot, Loulou. When Monsieur Bourais visits Madam's house, Loulou starts to laugh at him, and Bourais eventually avoids the parrot and goes into the house by the garden gate. Why do you think Loulou laughed at Monsieur Bourais? How would you compare this [Loulou's laugh at Bourais] to his "pedantic smile" at Felicite (446)? How would you describe Bourais's personality and his characteristics? How would you describe the relationship between Felicite and Loulou?
