By each Tuesday: finish 1/2 the chapter

By each Friday: finish chapter

Jan 3-7: 1-51

Jan 10-14: 52-103

Jan 17-21: 104-163 (Note: We are out Monday 17th.)

Jan 24-28: 164-224

Jan 31-Feb 4: 225-278

Feb 7-11: 279-348

You are currently working on your final outlines for Love in the Time of Cholera. These will be due this Friday, April 2nd. Your first rough drafts will be due the following Monday, April 5th. You will spend that week reviewing the drafts with your peers and one-on-one with me. Your final drafts will be due that Friday, April 9th.

Your outlines for the first three sections will be due Monday. Be sure to print it out before class, as we’ll be discussing them. If you’d like, email a copy to me and we can help you on the board.

Update: I’ve received a few questions about our plans after my absence. We’ll continue the schedule as laid out, but I’ll be looking over your journals on Monday the 19th. Thanks, JS

Love in the Time of Cholera is not for the faint-of-heart, as I’m sure you’re all aware by now. I’ve posted a reading schedule below. It would be wise to read ahead (and journal all the way) over the weekends and breaks if you’re afraid of falling behind. (For those who find themselves lost in discussions of passages they’ve read beyond, the reading journal is a good way to refresh your memory.)

Journaling is vital to the creation of a solid paper towards the end of this novel. If you scroll to the end of the schedule, you’ll notice that we end the novel on a Wednesday (the 28th) and turn in a final draft of your term paper the next week (the 3rd). By journaling as you go, you are keeping track of patterns that emerge (see “Some things,” below). When you formulate your thesis, you are explaining what these patterns say about the work as a whole. From there, creating an outline is a matter of going through your journal and grouping quotations and insights that support your thesis, then putting them in a logical order. Writing a rough draft should be mostly copying your comments and their accompanying quotations from your journal.

It is not a simple process, but most of the insight work should be done while you’re reading and during our discussions. The writing process is communication work: organizing, working on flow, reinforcing your points.

I’ll work with each of you as we go, but I can’t read/journal for you; I can merely guide you in the right direction.

Possible essay topics:

• Explore the use of water imagery and how it reflects the themes of the novel.
• Contrast the characters of Dr. Urbino and Florentino Ariza using the symbolism that surrounds each.
• Explore the many types of love found in this novel. Are there any commonalities?
• Explain Marquez’s use of setting to reflect the tone of particular scenes.
• Explain the parallels between the city and the characters (particularly Dr. Urbino) as they age.

These are only ideas; let me know if you come up with another one.

Some things to be journaling:

• All liquid imagery (particularly water, but all other fluids)
• Mixed metaphors or images that seem contradictory
• First impressions and sketches of Dr. Urbino, Fermina Daza, and Florentino Ariza
  • As the characters interact, note how they compare or contrast. (“Would Urbino react like Florentino does in this scene?”)
• Keep tracking the different types of love!
• Always
  • Questions
  • Vocabulary
  • Cool passages
  • Your interpretations/reactions of events

We will have a brief quiz on Monday. If you are having difficulties keeping up with the reading, see me and we’ll work it out.

To check your understanding, check out this site, which has a list of basic questions about each section. This isn’t an assignment, though it would be beneficial to read over them after you finish a section.

Reading/writing schedule:

You can pick up your copies of Love in the Time of Cholera at Barnes and Noble. If you’re looking for a deal, Gardner’s may have a few copies as well. Dig in before Monday (read as far as you’d like, but hit at least the first chapter).

Don’t forget to journal. What are your first impressions? What is cholera? We’ll discuss the author’s style on Monday.