Kate Chopin style
STYLE: When we talk about “style,” we mean the WAY that words and ideas get put on the page. Word choices, sentence lengths, word sounds. . . of course, the IDEAS enter in too–as for example, sexy words indicate sexy themes, usually. But, the first place to look for style is NOT ideas, but the words themselves. So, in looking for style, it’s probably a good idea to READ OUT LOUD. Notice how the words sound, what they bring to mind, how long the sentences are, how hard or easy or normal or exotic the words are. . . THEN think of the ideas that are communicated WITH that style.
1. In what significant way, would you say, is Chopin’s style like Henry James’s?
2. In what significant way, would you say, is Chopin’s style like Jewett’s?
3. In what significant way, would you say, is Chopin’s style simply new?
These are the readings from this module:
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (a novel)
Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat”
Booker T. Washington’s Chapter II, “Boyhood Days,”
W.E.B. Dubois’s selections from The Souls of Black Folk, chapters 1, 3 and 14
readings from henry james: the beast in the jungle and daisy miller
readings from Sarah Orne Jewett: The Country of the Pointed Firs