English 211: Fiction
Discussion Question 6
Directions: Choose ONE of the following questions and write an answer. Be sure to use specific details and direct quotes from the novel to support your ideas. Your answer should be 2-3 paragraphs long. This question is due no later than Thursday, November 19.
Your responses to other students' answers are due by midnight on Sunday, November 22. In order to get the full 20 points, you MUST respond thoughtfully to at least 3 or 4 other people's postings.
We will be using the ETUDES Discussion Board for this class. Click on the link below to get to the ETUDES portal, sign in, and then click on the tab for this class. You will find the "Discussion and Private Messages" link on the left side of the screen:
Remember: This discussion question is worth a possible 20 points. Late answers will receive 0 points. Points will be assigned according to the thoughtfulness of your answer, not by whether it is "right" or not, since sometimes there is no "right" answer. Just be sure your ideas are supported by the material in the novel.
1. Septimus Smith did not appear in the early versions of Mrs. Dalloway. What purpose does he serve in the novel? Explain, using specific examples and quotes from the novel to illustrate your ideas.
2. In Mrs. Dalloway, we have an ordinary middle-class, middle-aged woman--not a castaway, not a runaway slave, not an adulteress. There is no overt drama in her life. How, then, does Virginia Woolf create conflict and tension in the novel? Give specific examples and quotes from the novel to illustrate your ideas.
