In organizing the structure of the new syllabus, I determined to commit to a thematic approach. During this past semester as we explored a diverse array of literature pertaining to blood, my mind was continually fixated on identifying and analyzing the theme of the piece in front of me. Both a result of instinct and intrigue, I have become accustomed to consistently searching for themes present in the works of literature that I read. For this reason, I decided to compile my syllabus based upon thematic strongholds. In essence, the course is arranged in a manner that constructs the sectors for the blood theme graphic we viewed during the final class. While there is an array of diverse sub-themes, there are three dominant central themes related to blood that I continually encountered this semester: conflict, identity, and misfortune. Ironically, these three themes happen to encompass the “makeup” of our humanity. First off is a unit focused on blood related to conflict. Notice that many of the works containing violence are actually not in this section (“The Bloody Chamber,” “Bloodchild,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” & …show more content…
In a sense, they will be viewing the other side of the equation: conflict + identity = misfortune. This is not always true, but indeed a dominant pattern in human history is that our conflicts blend with out different identities to create a product of misfortune. This is manifested most strongly in “Bluebeard,” “Cinderella,” Macbeth, and Oedipus the King, all of which portraying a character whose bloodthirst leads to unfortunate consequences. The “thesis” to my students for this unit can be found in the following statement: while we act in a manner according to blood, blood acts in a manner according to us. This complex topic will guide us into further exploration of the ideas of destiny, superstition, and