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ENG 101 -- Class Notes 
Session 17
Tue., 11/15
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TO DOs

**Finish Gelernter Part 3 -- Suburbia (15 min.)

**”American Suburbia vs. the Planet” (15 min.)

**Launch for Essay #3, Milestone #1 -- Page One + 3 or 4 Sources -- A Short Research Paper

DUE AFTER T-DAY -- ON TUE. 11/29 (ONLY PAGE ONE + WORKS CITED)

***

**R.K. Narayan “Forty-Five a Month” -- A Short Story (Fiction!) on Work (45 min.)

(THERE WILL BE A QUESTION ON OUR 2 SHORT STORIES ON WORK ON OUR FINAL EXAM!) 

1900-1939
Technology

1939-Today
Technology

cars | Google robot-driven cars
phones | iPhones
movies | on-demand video / YouTube / 3D IMAX
elevators | ???
refrigerators | ???
diesel trains | ???
planes | drones
X-rays | CAT scans, etc.
television | YouTube, etc.

***REPUTABLE SOURCES OF CURRENT REVIEWS OF GAGDETS AND PHONES AND TODAY’S TECHNOLOGY:

(Listed alphabetically)

1)  www.recode.com

2) Ars Technica(www.arstechnica.com)

3) CNET (www.cnet.com)

4) Gizmodo (www.gizmodo.com)

5) PCMag.com (www.pcmag.com)

6) Slashdot (www.slashdot.org)

7) TechCrunch (www.techcrunch.com)

8) Wired Magazine (www.wired.com)

WHAT GOES INTO A GOOD INTRODUCTION FOR A SHORT RESEARCH PAPER?

[   ]  1) Mention your topic -- but don't be too broad.

[   ] 2) Mention your main source (include AUTHOR AND TITLE of essay / book) -- Gelernter is good to use.

[  ] 3) Use a short framing quote.  QUOTE FROM YOUR MAIN SOURCE!

[   ] 4) Put the thesis at the end of the introduction.
Put it as the last sentence.

[   ] 5) USE EXACT WORDING OF THESIS FROM PROMPT....

Based on several sources, I agree that ---------------.

Based on several sources, I disagree that -------------------.

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R. K. Narayan’s “Forty‐Five a Month," pp. 35-40
in Across Cultures 
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1) As a group sketch out the character of Venkat Rao, who is the main character (or protagonist) of the story. What kind of a person is he? Why can’t he spend time with his daughter Shanta? What kind of job does Venkat Rao have? 
**Answers

Venkat --father of Shanta (7) -- Ms. Rao
Office -- files papers -- clerk -- 
**They keep him late at work -- working with numbers
*Young 20s - 35
*Shy person (not assertive)
**Brave? 
*Father to Shanta == Ms. Rao
                                   
*late 20s

white collar work -- tedious / low-paid / long hours!
Office -- bookkeeping / accounting

Reconcile accounts -- by hand / paper-based

2) Next, try to sketch out the setting of the story. Where and when does the story take place? What ‘economic class’ do Venkat Rao and his family inhabit? (Are they rich, poor or something in between?)
**Answers

**India
***city / urban
**1950s - 60s
*In between / average / no time 
***Middle-class - white collar work

3) As we have seen, often in recent fiction there is a ‘realization’ that a character undergoes at the end of a story. But Venkat Rao’s ‘realization’ seems to be interrupted. Why does he resign from his job? What stops him? Do you think his boss could have given him a raise earlier?
**Answers

**Venkat takes a stand -- make a point - writes a powerful of resignation.
***However, his boss seems to notice this and says he is giving him a raise. This stops him from turning in the letter. He doesn’t quit!

4) Challenge Question: Is Venkat Rao a courageous or cowardly character (or something else)? As a group try to decide. What do you think Narayan the author is trying to say about the world of work with the ending of this story? Is it easy to find a balance between work and family, even for white-collar jobs like Venkat Rao’s?
**Answers

**Although Venkat Rao does not quit his job, he’s courageous enough to stand up to his boss. Many readers would say a +12% raise is significant for his family. 

He can’t afford to quit.

The fact that his raise means he’ll never spend quality time with his family (and Shanta his daughters) suggests that work / life balance was impossible for workers like Venkat.

The story ‘diagnoses’ a cultural problem about the nature of work during a particular place and time. (It’s not only Americans today who have a lack of work/life balance).

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  NEXT TIME -- THU. 11/17
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1) READING Lalita Gandbhir’s “Free and Equal” (pp. 41-44) in Across Cultures -- Related story to R.K. Narayan.

2) Start working on your Essay #3 Milestone #1 Page One with Thesis and 3 Sources are due in 2 weeks on TUE. 11/29.

REMEMBER THIS IS JUST PAGE ONE AND YOUR WORKS CITED PAGE -- 2 out of 4 are given to you! COPY THEM!

Include 3 Sources -- With Annotations = 3 sentences describing each source

3) Sample Milestone #1 will help you understand what goes into this asg. -- Online questions due on 11/22!