Close Reading of Ted's Display of Chivalry in George Saunders's “My Chivalric Fiasco”

Instructions for Close Reading

In literary studies, we produce persuasive arguments through exegesis (also called close reading). The word “exegesis” comes from Greek meaning “to draw out.” A literary exegesis “draws out” the literal and inferred meanings of a text. We use this method of reading to build larger arguments about how a text “works” and what it means. Our evidence is a close reading of the text. There is no single and absolute process to close reading. Instead, this skill is based on reading carefully and knowing what questions to ask of a specific text to find plausible significance. A good close reading will 1) accurately describe the text and 2) analyze what it means in context (of the text as a whole). In other words, a good close reading draws a reader’s attention to what and how the particular details of a passage add to our understanding of the text. Write a brief close reading (2-3 double-spaced pages, not counting the works cited page that must be included). Analyze one of the passages provided below. In order to guide your reading, I have provided a suggested topic to focus your reading of each passage. (You are free to explore your own topic. Just ask first.) Instructions for Close Reading There are two stages to any close reading: your actual reading of the text (which includes notes you write about the text to figure out what you think), and the written exegesis you present to someone else. Normally, an English class would expect that second part to be polished in a formal, argumentative essay. In this class, however, we’re going to focus on close reading as a process of discovery through writing about a text. Start with the text. Before you write anything, read the passage carefully. Pull as much information as you can. Pay attention to the specific meanings of verbs. Look for repetitions, contradictions or tensions. Does the passage capture tensions we’ve been discussing? If so, how does the passage answer those tensions? Do other parts of the text answer them? If you’re like me, you might need to free write your ideas first. Then start writing! To start, in a sentence or two, summarize and situate the passage in its context. Write as though you’re explaining the passage to a smart friend. Show your friend that you understand the general or obvious “meaning” of the passage, so they can follow along, and tell them why this passage is so interesting. Then discuss your evidence. Incorporate quotations of a phrase or line directly into your discussion. Explain how this evidence works to prove or add nuance to the specific claim you’re making. If you find that your evidence is starting to contradict your initial point, say so! Discuss how your reading is changing. You can discover new conclusions as you write. End with a concluding statement that clarifies what specific relationship or argument you’ve developed by analyzing examples from the text. A conclusion shouldn’t simply restate your original claim. It should suggest something more, something you could say only after writing a careful analysis of the text. Assessment To assess your close reading, we will focus primarily on the quality of your observations and your attention to detail in interpreting one of the passages below. We will also be looking for a specific claim about the passage’s importance to the rest of the text. We don’t need an essay-style thesis, but we’ll be looking for a clear articulation of why the meaning of this passage matters to the meaning of the poem, novel, or short story in question. Don’t stress about making your response “perfect” or “sound smart.” Instead, we prefer that you write clear, thoughtful statements. We want your response to be specific. Sometimes that means your analysis may get messy. It’s better to offer more detail in a close reading: e.g. instead of referring to a “vehicle,” you might be more specific by identifying the particular kind of vehicle, e.g. four-door Mercedes sedan (provided the text gives you that level of detail). Remember that your reading must be plausible to a critical reader. QUESTIONS / PASSAGES FOR ANALYSIS Examine the form of chivalry that Ted displays in George Saunders’s “My Chivalric Fiasco.” Focus on the following passage (71-2): At this time, Don Murray himself didst step Forward, and, extending his Hand, placed it upon my Breast, as if to Restrain me. Ted, I swear to God, quoth he. Put a sock in it or I will flush you down the shitter so fast. And verily, part of my Mind now didst give me sound Counsel: I must endeavor to dampen these Feelings, lest I commit some Rash Act, converting my Good Fortune into Woe. Yet the Heart of Man is an Organ that doth not offer Itself up to facile Prediction, and shall not be easily Tam’d. For looking upon Don Murray now, many Thoughts did assemble in my Mind, like unto Thunderclouds: Of what Use is Life, if the Living Man doth not pursue Righteousness, & enforce Justice, as God granteth him the Power to do so? Was it a Happy thing, that a Fiend went about Unhindered? Must the Weak forever wander this goodly Orb unprotected? At these Thoughts, something Honest and Manly began to assert itself within me, whereupon, Secrecy not befitting a Gentleman, I strode into the very Center of that Room and sent forth, to the many Guests gathered there, a right Honest Proclamation, in Earnest, & Aloud, to wit: —That Don Murray had taken Foul Advantage of Martha, placing, against her Will, his Rod into her Womanhood on TorchLightNight; —Further: that this foul Wretch had Procured Martha’s silence by Various Bribes, including her current Job of Worke; —Further: that he had similarly attempted to Purchase my Silence; but that I would be SILENT no MORE, for was a Man withal, if nothing ELSE, and would SERVE Righteousness, Regarding NOT the Cost. Turning to Martha, I requested, by inflection of my Head, her Assent in these Statements, & Confirmation of the Truth of that which I had Declared. But alas! The wench did not Affirm me. Only drop’d her Eyes, as if in Shame, and fled that Place. Examine the “problem” faced by the seneschal’s wife in Marie de France’s “Equitan” (30). She made her visit to ask their visitor, “What is it that ails you?” And he answered, “You! There’s nothing I can say or do, I am in love with you, and unless you bring relief for my distress I shall surely die.” She said, pursing her lips and shaking her head, “I must have time to consider such a problem. I fear that you very much outrank me and that, should I comply with your wishes, you would by and by abandon me. If I confessed my love and granted your request, our feelings would not be equally shared. I am your vassal, and you are prepared to be my lord in love. As I well know, such an inequity in love is a disability: a poor man’s love, though it be rude, is full of joy and gratitude, while a prince or a king will take it for granted, so that the lesser is more. Examine the role of secrecy in Marie de France’s “Lanval.” Focus on Guinevere’s threat (62-3): Thinking he must be a perfect dunce, she explained that she wanted him and to penetrate into his dim brain, she promised him gifts if he would come to her in secrecy. But he declined. “I serve the king and cannot betray him or do such a thing as you have proposed. It would not be allowed by the code of chivalry.” The queen was furious — and ashamed, and he was the one whom she blamed. “Lanval,” she said, “I have heard it said that you do not welcome women in bed. You have your pages and grooms, and you sport with them as some men do, and this is sinful and wicked. The king cannot endure the taint you bring to the court and the entire nation. He cannot risk his soul’s salvation for the sake of your peculiar taste or allow himself to be disgraced.”