ECL 308W Discussion Post One

There are TWO PROMPTS, PICK ONLY ONE and write ONE PARAGRAPH, thank you! Only use the pdf I give you for the source, please. In other words, no reading or other research outside of class materials is expected. However, if you do choose to do any outside research or reading for them, including using any kind of artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT), you must fully and accurately acknowledge your sources, including putting quotation marks around any wording that is not your own; if you don't do this, it is considered plagiarism for which there are severe penalties. PROMPTS: 1. In his introductory chapter to Literary Theory: An Introduction, as a part of his argument that literature is a social construct, Eagleton makes the point that: “One person’s norm may be another person’s deviation: ‘ginnel’ for ‘alleyway’ may be poetic in Brighton but ordinary language in Barnsley.” (4) What examples of other (American) English words can you think of that have different valences in different parts of the country among different kinds of people? Do you agree with Eagleton's claim that there is no "normal" language that can be contrasted with "literary" language? Why or why not? 2. Eagleton refers to the “invisible network of value-categories,” or the ideology, that makes up a given society. He argues that our interests or goals, as societies, create the knowledge that we produce. (12) Knowledge is thus not objective, pure, or separate from societies’ interests. “Interests are constitutive of our knowledge,” he says. Do you agree? Why or why not? Can you think of specific examples that either support or refute his argument?