Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures

SLA338H, Ivan Franko

Class meets on Tuesdays 1:00–3:00 PM in Alumni Hall 103

Mid Term Test

This assignment comprises 20% of the course grade.

The assignment is due at the beginning of class on February 27, 2024. The assignment consists of a short essay, roughly two or three pages long. It is the quality of your writing and the coherence of your argument that is most important. Originality (thinking of something no one else has ever thought of) is nice, but not likely, and not as important as thinking clearly and writing convincingly. The essays should be typed, double spaced, 12 point, 1 inch margins, 2-3 pages. No title pages are necessary, but don't forget your name. Here is the question for the essay:

Examine the depiction of Valeriyan Stalsky in Franko's Fateful Crossroads, which is the assigned reading for the week after our break. Focus in particular on the depiction of Stalsky in chapter two of that novel (pp. 17–21). Using all the works we have read thus far, explore Franko's depiction of evil as a psychological problem. How does evil manifest itself? How are it's causes understood? What mechanisms of psychological portratiture does Franko use to depict evil?

Questions during reading week? = maxim.tarnawsky@utoronto.ca

Final Papers

• Select your own topic (in consultation with the instructor).
• Write a detailed interpretation of any one of the novels we have read in the course.
• Explore the depiction of women (as saints and sinners) in two or three of the works we have read.
• Explore the manner in which Franko builds his "accidental heroes" in such works as Hryts and the Young Lord, The Involuntary Hero, "The Death of Cain," and elsewhere.
• Explore Franko's depiction of community leaders and public figures.
• Explore manifestations of the conflict between reason and the irrational in Franko's characters.