1. Looking at Their Eyes… through various lenses
You will need the following materials today:
Your Survival Guide (turn to page 116)
Your R.J.
Your copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God
Friday

2. Honing in on 3 lenses
The basics of the main critical lenses can be found in your Survival Guide, beginning on page 116.
Working with the Psychoanalytic Lens, the New Historicism Lens, & the Feminism/Gender Lens
Friday

3. The Psychoanalytic Lens—Freud
Psychoanalytic criticism in part builds on Freudian theories of psychology.
Freud maintained that desires and unconscious conflicts give rise to 3 areas of the mind that wrestle for dominance as one matures:
Id: the unorganized part of the personality structure that contains a human's basic, instinctual drives.
Ego: prevents one from acting on basic urges (est. by the id) while working to achieve a balance with one’s moral and idealistic standards (est. by the superego)
Superego: the internalization of cultural rules, mainly taught/influenced by parents/guardians.
Freud believed in an Oedipus complex: essentially, this involves children's need for their parents and the conflict that arises as children mature and realize they are not the absolute focus of their mother's attention.
Talk with your partner—what would Freud have to say about the character of Hamlet? Oedipus?
(Be prepared to share your observations with the class as a whole.)
Friday
After sharing the information on the left side of the slide, hit “enter” and the “Talk with your partner” box will appear. When the conversation begins to mellow, call on a few people at random and have them share out.
Key elements that students will ideally address:
Oedipus complex is most clear between Hamlet and the queen—he’s struggling with sharing her with King C.
Hamlet jumps around between the id, the ego, and the superego. If he was pure id, he would not be conflicted over avenging his father’s death. Yet, once he begins killing his id takes over to a degree—killing one after the other with little to no remorse (think Polonious). Readers see a lot of ego in his soliloquies.

4. The Psychoanalytic Lens—Jung
Psychoanalytic criticism in part builds on Jungian theories of psychology.
Jungian criticism attempts to explore the connection between literature and what Carl Jung (a student of Freud) called the “collective unconscious” of the human race. Jungian criticism assumes that all stories and symbols include recurring myths and archetypes.
Jung developed/identified 3 main archetypes (there are more, but these are the main 3):
Shadow: largely negative and unconscious, this is an aspect of the personality which the conscious ego does not identify within itself
Anima: the unconscious of the male, expressed as a feminine inner personality
Animus: the unconscious of the female, expressed as a masculine inner personality
In literary analysis, a Jungian critic looks for archetypes. When dealing with this sort of criticism, it is often useful to keep a handbook of mythology and a dictionary of symbols on hand (e.g. your Allusions Packet in your Survival Guide).
Talk with your partner—what would Jung have to say about the characters of Happy and Biff?
(Be prepared to share your observations with the class as a whole.)
Friday
After sharing the information on the left side of the slide, hit “enter” and the “Talk with your partner” box will appear. When the conversation begins to mellow, call on a few people at random and have them share out.
Key elements that students will ideally address:
Gertrude has a clear animus in that she seeks to keep her power and to protect her family (specifically Hamlet).
Claudius clearly has a shadow archetype in that he doesn’t seem to feel remorse for his having killed King C. nor does he seem to feel remorse about his scheming to figure out what is going on with Hamlet.

5. (Be prepared to share your observations with the class as a whole.)
New Historicism
This school of thought seeks to reconnect a work with the time period in which it was produced and identify it with the dominant social, political, and moral movements of the time. 
New Historicism assumes that every work is a product of the historic moment that created it.
New historicists do not believe that one can look at history objectively, but rather that one interprets events as products of one’s time and culture.
New Historicists, when analyzing literature, will mainly look at:
How language/characters/events present reflect the current events of the author’s day
Diction choices
If the work supports or condemns historically significant events/beliefs/political figures/movements/etc.
How the work considers traditionally marginalized populations
Talk with your partner—what would a New Historicist have to say about The Great Gatsby?
(Be prepared to share your observations with the class as a whole.)
Friday
After sharing the information on the left side of the slide, hit “enter” and the “Talk with your partner” box will appear. When the conversation begins to mellow, call on a few people at random and have them share out.
Key elements that students will ideally address:
Marriage being the main focus of a mother
Women not being able to inherit a family home
A desire to marry up in order to insure that one is take care of
Women, like C.L. settle for someone they don’t like simply for security
Individuals from a higher class being cautious and judgmental of those from a lower class
To a degree, it is a commentary on war and soldiers as well as the clergy/church
Some words used in the text no longer share the same meanings today

6. (Be prepared to share your observations with the class as a whole.)
Feminism/Gender
Feminist criticism…
This school of thought is concerned with the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women.
It looks at how aspects of our culture are inherently patriarchal (male dominated).
It is also concerned with less obvious forms of marginalization such as the exclusion of women writers from the traditional literary canon.
Gender studies…
Has been influenced greatly by feminist studies.
It explores issues of sexuality, power, and marginalized populations (specifically female, gay, lesbian, and transgender) in literature and culture.
Has a primary concern in regards to manner in which gender and sexuality are discussed.
To label a character as masculine and another as feminine is inherently reiterating gender stereotypes. If one means that a certain character is dominating and another is meek, than they should be classified as such.
Talk with your partner—what would a Feminist/Gender Theorist have to say about “Hills Like White Elephants”?
(Be prepared to share your observations with the class as a whole.)
Friday
After sharing the information on the left side of the slide, hit “enter” and the “Talk with your partner” box will appear. When the conversation begins to mellow, call on a few people at random and have them share out.
Key elements that students will ideally address:
The man falls into a stereotypical male role and the girl falls into a stereotypical female role.
The women is repressed, to a degree, and is feeling as if she has to make decisions about her body based on what he wants.
The use of the pronoun “it” to describe the fetus.

7. Your Homework Applying these three lenses to
Remember, the basics of the main critical lenses can be found in your Survival Guide, beginning on page 116: you may also find the Little Red Riding Hood interpre-tations helpful—these can be found starting on page 133.
Your Homework
Applying these three lenses to
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Friday
Divide the group into three, evenly sized groups: A, B, and C.

8. Your Homework Group A Group B
New Historicism
(see guide page for details & questions—you may wish to do outside research on the era/author)
Group B
Feminism/ Gender
(see guide pages for details & questions)
Group C
Psychoanalytic
(see guide page for details & questions)
Now, think about Their Eyes Were Watching God from your assigned lens.
In your RJ, take detailed notes of your thoughts.
Use the “typical questions”(noted under your assigned theory in your Survival Guide) to help you dig deeply into the text.
Identify direct quotes from Their Eyes Were Watching God to support your ideas.
On Tuesday/Wednesday, we will have three graded fishbowl discussions centering around each of the three assigned lenses.
Friday
If there is time left in the hour, have them work in groups on beginning this task. What remains is homework.
—Monday—
If you own your own copy of How to Read Literature Like a Professor please bring it along with you.

9. Looking at Their Eyes… through Foster’s Eyes
You will need the following materials today:
Your R.J.
Your copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God
A copy of How to Read Lit-erature Like a Professor
Monday
Day 2

10. Your First Task
1’s
“Every Trip is a Quest (Except when it’s Not)”
2’s
“More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence”
3’s
“It’s More than Just Rain or Snow”
4’s
“Is that a Symbol?”
5’s
“Don’t Read With Your Eyes”
You will soon be assigned one of five chapters from How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
Reread your assigned chapter keeping Their Eyes Were watching God in mind. While you read, note in your RJ key statements Foster makes that connect with Hurston’s novel. Draw connections between the two works.
Monday
Give students about 15 minutes to complete this task.

11. Fishbowl Day Day 3 Group A Each group will discuss for 15 minutes
New Historicism
(see guide page for details & questions—you may wish to do outside research on the era/author)
Group B
Feminism/ Gender
(see guide pages for details & questions)
Group C
Psychoanalytic
(see guide page for details & questions)
Each group will discuss for 15 minutes
The fishbowl discussion will be scored and will go in the gradebook
Inside circle, discuss how the assigned area of literary criticism perceives Their Eyes Were Watching God
Incorporate your assigned chapter for Foster as well.
Outside circle, take notes in your RJ
You may wish to have your Survival Guide open in order to reference to the different critical lenses
There is an empty chair/desk for those from the outside circle to come into the inner circle briefly and pose questions/ observations
Tuesday/Wednesday
Day 3

12. Looking at Their Eyes… through Foster’s Eyes
You will need the following materials today:
Your R.J.
Your copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God
Your copy of the article “Like a Hurricane”
Wednesday - Homework

13. Your Second Task Group 1 Group 2
“Every Trip is a Quest (Except when it’s Not)”
Group 2
“More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence”
Group 3
“It’s More than Just Rain or Snow”
Group 4
“Is that a Symbol?”
Group 5
“Don’t Read With Your Eyes”
Keeping your assigned chapter from How to Read Literature Like a Professor in mind, now read the chapter “Like a Hurricane” taken from Foster’s work Twenty-five Books that Shaped America.
Annotate the text while you read.
Then, answer the following in your RJ:
According to Foster, “the critics had their reasons. They just got it wrong” (207). Do you agree? Why/why not?
What is your reaction to Foster’s statements pertaining to racism, discussed mainly on pages ?
Note what Foster says about Hurston’s diction choices. How does this align with or juxtapose what you noted when answering your RJ questions for this novel?
How does your assigned chapter from HtRLLaP connect with the chapter “Like a Hurricane”?
Wednesday - Homework
Give students about 20 minutes to complete this task: what they don’t finish becomes homework.

14. Become an expert on your topic.
1’s
“Every Trip is a Quest (Except when it’s Not)”
2’s
“More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence”
3’s
“It’s More than Just Rain or Snow”
4’s
“Is that a Symbol?”
5’s
“Don’t Read With Your Eyes”
First, all 1’s get into a group, all 2’s into another group, etc.
Then, share your answers to the four “Like a Hurricane” questions: spend extra care with, and extra time on, question 4
Become an expert on your topic.
The questions were:
According to Foster, “the critics had their reasons. They just got it wrong” (207). Do you agree? Why/why not?
What is your reaction to Foster’s statements pertaining to racism, discussed mainly on pages ?
Note what Foster says about Hurston’s diction choices. How does this align with or juxtapose what you noted when answering your RJ questions for this novel?
How does your assigned chapter from HtRLLaP connect with the chapter “Like a Hurricane”?
Thursday
Give students about 15 minutes to complete this task.
Day 4

15. Now, Jigsaw Each group needs a 1, a 2, a 3, a 4, and a 5.
“Every Trip is a Quest (Except when it’s Not)”
2’s
“More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence”
3’s
“It’s More than Just Rain or Snow”
4’s
“Is that a Symbol?”
5’s
“Don’t Read With Your Eyes”
Each group needs a 1, a 2, a 3, a 4, and a 5.
Take turns sharing out your answers to question #4 for “Like a Hurricane.”
Take note of your peers’ findings in your RJ.
Thursday/Friday
This should take until the end of the hour. If not, bring them back together whole class and talk about the 4 questions.