Week 7 Journal Prompts (Feb. 22-26)

Consider a moment that was particular life-changing for you: did you recognize that moment as life-changing at the time? Or only until much later? In telling your story (that is, the story of you, who you are, and how you got here) do you include this moment? If so, what do you choose to emphasize or omit? If not, why do you choose to downplay its impact? Why do you think this is? What effect do these decisions have on both how you view yourself and how others come to view you?

OR

Write a response to the opening of Atonement. What major themes or issues do you see cropping up already? Which themes have we seen elsewhere? Which seem to be “new”? Where do you see this narrative going or where do you hope it goes? Why? What are some things Atonement does to create those expectations for you?

Week 6 Journal Prompts (Feb. 15-19)

Now that you have a better handle on Lacan, write a response to his ideas. How useful do you consider his work for an investigation of soulmate narratives? How useful or applicable do you find his ideas to real life? What are some things you think you’ll take and use from Lacan? What are some things you will abandon?

OR

Practice using Lacan on a song (or poem) that deals with love in some way. Do the method on the song/poem and then consider: what are elements of the song/poem that Lacan would draw attention to? What are elements he would overlook? How might you use Lacan to come to a different interpretation of that song or poem?

Some suggestions (if you can’t think of any):
Poems: Poe “Anabelle Lee,” Browning “Porphyria’s Lover”
Songs: The Killers “When You Were Young,” Jimmy Eat World “23,” Mumford & Sons “White Blank Page,” Passenger “Let Her Go,” Vanessa Carlton “White Houses”

She's got a blank space, baby. It is das Ding.

Week 5 Journal Prompts (Feb. 8-12)

What are some of the assumptions embedded in the soulmate narrative? That is who, according to these stories, “gets” to be soulmates? What obstacles are most easily overcome? Who is excluded from these narratives? Why do you think that might be?

OR

For your Essay 1, you had to choose a definitive feature of the soulmate. What was your feature? Do you see either Murakami or Barrett engaging your definition in their texts? In what ways? In using the soulmate narrative, what do these texts reveal about its assumptions or its utility?

"The faintest gleam of their lost memories glimmered for the briefest moment in their hearts."
(Murakami "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl")