It's gotta be longer than "a sec" or "a minute", but shorter than "a while" or "an hour",

A sec is just that, 1 second.
A minute is just that as well, 1 minute or 60 seconds.
An hour is an hour, 60 minutes.
A while has to be shorter, so I'll say between 30 minutes and an hour, so 45 minutes.

One also says "I'll be there in 30", signifying 30 minutes, one half of one hour.
One can also say "I'll be there in 20", signifying 20 minutes, but not quite a half hour.
One also says "I'll be there in 5" or "I'll be there in 10", signifying 5 or 10 minutes respectively.

A jiffy must be that missing time between 10 minutes and 20 minutes, so I'll go out on the limb and say a Jiffy is about 15 minutes.

So let it be written, so let it be done.


phox

 

Just because I have Wikipedia set as my homepage doesn't make me smart...

I'll do literature homework just for fun. Although I won't begin to guarantee a grade, it will be humorous.

 

You could guarantee a grade:
"I guarantee you will get an A, B, C, D or F"

Sounds like an iron-clad guarantee to me,
~Rob

 

A jiffy is how long it takes to squeeze the dried mustard out of the tip and into the garbage so the average person can enjoy there condiments

 

someone has been reading all my threads

 

A jiffy is exactly how long it takes for you to get there, wether it be direct or roundabout....

 

Well now there is an answer I can work with!

 

Instruction 1:
What I am asking you to do is called a "discovery draft" - an informal piece of writing in which you think through you topic toward an actual thesis. Your process needs to work this way:

1. Choose one of the three "approaches" to literary analysis - Author's work as context, literary form as context, history/culture as context.

2. Choose the pieces that you are likely to include AT LEAST 3 (doing this draft will help you realize quickly if you do not have enough or if something you've chosen does not fit). Some
suggestions: (Shoot me an email once you have decided if you still need help finding some pieces that fit your chosen category).

Author's Work: Flannery O'Conner, William Carlos Williams, Margaret Atwood, Loise Erdrich,

Form: Southern Gothic, Mystery, Sonnet, Haiku

History/Culture: Modernism (1912-1940), Postwar (1940-1973), Romantic Period (1798-1832), Colonialist literature, Native American literature, Latin American Literature ... and any subgroup within those...

I think that form is the area we have covered least...

3. Read your selections in the text, find more texts on line or at the library if you need.

4. Start writing about what you have read by addressing the following questions - what questions do you have? what did you like?
what stood out? what topics do you know that you will need to address? What additional research might you need to do? Look over the 10 investigative prompts on pages 607-608 and start addressing those one at a time (try to discuss each piece - i.e. discuss the "situation" for all of the pieces you intend to include before going on to the next topic). Get about 3 pages down... YOU DO NOT NEED TO ADDRESS ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS OR PROMPTS FROM THE LIST OF 10 - only those that are the most helpful to you.

YOUR GOAL IS TO WORK YOUR WAY THROUGH TOWARD A THESIS - BY THE END OF YOUR THIRD PAGE YOU SHOULD HAVE A HANDEL ON THE ASPECTS OF THE AUTHOR, THE FORM, OR THE CULTURE/HISTORY THAT YOU SEE MOST EVIDENT IN
THE PIECES AND THEY WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME THE FOCUS OF YOUR PAPER.
YOU MIGHT WIND UP WITH A THESIS LIKE:

The Poet A tends to use imagery X in order to explore theme Y.

Authors A, B, and C all exploit the form X in different ways.

The literature of culture A is distinguished by its use of (a certain type of language? style? imagery? symbol? theme?)

One last instruction - do not worry at this point about finding out more than which pieces you will use. Do not start trying to research modernism, the sonnet, or Margaret Atwood - just find the literature that fits, read it and write. If you start to look up other info you will corrupt the thought process. This is a DISCOVERY draft. I will look at it, give you feedback, and then you will write a ROUGH DRAFT, which I will also look at and give feedback before a final draft.

Instruction 2:
For your rough draft, due Wednesday:

Now you need to turn this into a real paper. If your topic is author as context, research your author; if it is form, research the form; if it is culture/history, then research that. Get enough information that you feel it can support the conclusions you intend to draw. You may need it to give you ideas on how you pull the pieces that you have chosen together. Save all of the information you will need to cite this research (including a works cited page at the end of your essay).

Formulate your thesis and get to work..
Don't worry, I got it. I think...
And... I need it in a jiffy...

 

Begle1,

If you know the deffinition of Jiffy, then maybe you will know the difference between a " piece and a "spell" as in " the truck is parked up the road a "piece". Compared to, The truck is parked up the road a "spell".

I have always been confused about this. Is one longer than the other? and exactly how far is each one???

 

In my mind, a piece is closer than a spell. A spell means a right decent timeframe, such as 20 minutes, 2 hours, 2 years(used for saying how long something has set, not how far away), etc. A piece means just a little ways away, such as 2 minutes or 5 minutes.

In your example, to get to the parked truck, you would have to go farther to get the one that is up the road a "spell," as compared to a "piece."

Of course, thats just my mind thinking this through. I dont believe I've heard it used the way you describe s cesnick, most of the time it is "Sit and talk a spell" or something of the sort, always referring to time.

EDIT: I dont think there is a timeframe for either one, just use what you're comfortable with.

 

Now I was taught that a Jiffy isn't an amount of time but a vehicle you use to get there. That way the expectant person could look out their window and when they saw the Jiffy coming up the road they'd know it was you.

My dad had a '48. Pretty cool, no seats and you steered with a rope.

 

Hmmm, wrong again, I always thought that a jiffy was twice as long as a "directly"
Note to self, don't ask Begle1 what time is it. He will give instructions on making a watch.
Down the road a piece is, ahhh.... oh never mind.
Wife will be here directly, for lunch. .

 

I think I like Madhat's explanation bet.
Of course in a WHILE I will give you a COUPLE of answers. Maybe SEVERAL in fact. SHORTLY after I go down the road a PIECE and set a SPELL. Then DIRECTLY after I have done a plethora of ciphering I will give you my best SWAG and as NEAR to a JIFFY as I can, I will give you the answer to your first question and also the answer to "How long is a piece of Rope?"

 

I asked my all-knowin' ole lady and she said a Jiffy is 13.43789 minutes......

 

Would see like to back this claim up somehow?