2. Read “The Kugelmass Episode” online at http://www.woodyallen.art.pl/eng/kugelmass_episode.php .  Read the following background information regarding the story by Woody Allen, as well.

Emma Bovary is the main character in a French novel by Gustave Flaubert,Madame Bovary.  Young Emma is desperate to get away from country life, fall in love, and live a life extraordinaire—just like the women in the romance novels she voraciously reads.  When Emma meets Charles, a country doctor, she sees her ticket to a better life.  Unfortunately, Emma does not understand that Charles is a medecin (country doctor) and not an Officier de Sante, Officer of Health, literally translated—a true doctor who is able to operate and dispense medicine.  Neither does Emma get a clue about Charles’ character from his last name, which has its roots in the word bovine (of or relating to cows!).  In short, Emma is dissatisfied and looks outside of her marriage.  After several unfulfilling affairs, Emma finds her soulmate in Rudolphe, a man with money and charm.  The two have a lengthy affair that ends when Emma declares her love for him and her determination to leave Charles and their small daughter.  Rudolphe spurns Emma, causing her to fall into depression and take her life by swallowing arsenic.

Other characters are mentioned in this story, some of whom you may already know.  Sister Carrie is the title character in a novel by Theodore Dreiser; she falls into prostitution to support herself and dies.  Hester Prynne, ofScarlet Letterfame, commits adultery with a priest.  Ophelia deeply loves Shakespeare’sHamletand drowns herself when Hamlet denies her love.  Temple Drake, a character in Faulkner’sSanctuary, is raped and eventually confined to an institution.  Finally, Saul Bellow is an author, not a character; his leading ladies are usually mistresses.

Knowing this about Emma and Kugelmass’ choices for an affair will help you to fully understand the story.

(Write Essay)   750-1000 words

short story essay

An outline must be turned in with all essays. You can use the Purdue OWL website for assistance in the MLA formatting, or if you have a copy of The St. Martin’s Handbook, refer to the MLA Style Chapter 32.

sample essays in MLA format provided in Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing– Chapter 2, can offer a visual reference; information on documenting sources is provided in Chapter 3 of the same text.