RR1 for Tuesday, September 2, 2003
1. Which of the pieces of literature assigned for today do you like best and why?

RR2 for Thursday, September 4, 2003
Remember to Write one full page of response to ONE question:

1. Think about the point of view from which the novel is written: that of Mandisi, the mother of the suspected killer. One major challenge for the narrator involves writing to an unsympathetic audience: the mother of the victim. Does Magona succeed in offering explanation or solace to the victim's family, do you think? Why or why not?

2. Magona in the preface says that in her novel "there is only one killer" (v). But is this true? Who or what killed Amy Biehl according to this novel?

3. What does it mean to be a good mother in an unjust society? Are Makhulu, Mama, Manono, Mandisa, and the victim's mother good mothers? Explain.

4. How do each of the fathers (China, Khaya, Tata, Dwadwa, Tatomkhulu) see his place in society? How do their social roles affect the way they see their roles as fathers? In whose footsteps might Mxolisi follow? What does Mandisa wish for her son? Explain.

5. Magona asks in the preface whether "lessons are to be had from knowing something of the other world" (v), from the world of the killers? What are the lessons Magona's novel sets forth? What have you learned about the consequences of racial separation from this novel? Can you draw connections to experiences from other parts of the world and from areas closer to your home?

6. Universal Pictures and Reese Witherspoon plan to adapt the story into a film. What are your hopes and fears for what the film could be?

7. What parallels do you see between South Africa and your own national or regional history of social/racial difference? How does reading this novel help you to gain perspective on the legacy of racism and segregation in the United States?

8. Knowing what you know, what should Mandisi do? What should the community do? Bring parallel examples from your own experience and communities.

9. Discuss this quotation: "Your daughter. The imperfect atonement of her race. / My son. The perfect host of the demons of his" (201).

10. In what way is this novel an American story? Argue for or against the decision to include this novel as a text in a course on the "American Mosaic."

RR3 for Tuesday, September 9, 2003 (THIS ONE IS MANDATORY!!)
List and explain 5-7 learning goals you have for yourself in the class this semester. State each goal clearly and concisely and then write three or four sentences clarifying why the goal is important and how you will measure your success in attaining it. Be sure to make these goals distinct from each other and focused on learning outcomes (what you hope to gain as a result of your effort) rather than on self-discipline (such as reading all of the assignments on time or trying your best) or on attaining a certain grade.

RR 4 for Thursday, September 11, 2003
1. Focus on one of the characters Davenport develops. What characteristics distinguish this character and what is this character’s function in the novel so far?
2. What theme do you see emerging in the novel so far?
3. What strategies are used in the colonization of Hawai'i? What effects does this colonization have on the Hawaiian people? Use specific examples from the reading.
4. What symbols do you see emerging so far? What is their significance so far?

5. What do you find interesting about Davenport's writing style? Give specific examples from the text.

6. Write and respond to your own question engaging the reading.

RR 5 for Tuesday, September 16, 2003
1. How do each of the four cousins resemble Pono?
2. Which of the characters is your favorite and why?
3. Supporting your case with evidence from various points in the novel, argue for one of the following themes being predominant in the novel:
a. "maybe we are deeper when we hurt" (177)
b. we can never really understand each other (270) or "you got to live it, to understand it" (300)
c. never compromise yourself (275-276)
d. "there isn't much we can change" (289)
e. we need to know our history in order to ever be at home with ourselves (285, for example)
f. rage can be beautiful (300 for example)
g. women can gain strength from each other (236 for example)
h. love is contextual (305)

i. other _________

4. Below are some phrases used by critics to describe reactions to Davenport's latest novel, Song of the Exile. Choose one of these that resonates with your experience of reading Shark Dialogues. Then discuss examples to support the connection between the critic's description and the novel's effect on you.
a. "You can't read Kiana Davenport without being transformed" (Alice Walker).
b. "Reading this novel is an overwhelming experience. . . . Davenport's prose is sharp and shining as a sword, yet her sense of poetry and love of nature permeate each line" (Isabel Allende).
c. "Its language is at times a song, and sometimes a cry in the dark. . . . Davenport's imagination and vision will haunt you for a long time."
d. "She infuses every page with poetry."
5. Formulate and respond to your own question.

RR 6 for Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Select a question from RR5 that you did not write on last time.

RR 7 for Tuesday, September 30, 2003
1. Pinpoint and discuss the climax of the novel in relation to the plot structure.
2. Articulate and discuss the predominating theme of the novel.
3. What did you learn from this novel about Hawai'i that you could not have learned from nonfictional work.

4. How has reading and discussing this novel contributed to your understanding of the American Mosaic and the role of reading literature in understanding human experience that has much in common though may appear quite diverse.
5. Formulate and respond to your own question.

RR 8 for Thursday, October 2, 2003

1. Attend to what Alexie writes about the nature and function of memory. Then consider how his literary art carries out this approach in how his characters relate to past, present, and future. Cite specific examples from at least two stories.

2. Compare and contrast the characters of Victor and Thomas Builds the Fire. What do they each value? Are you sympathetic to both of them? Why or why not?

3. Focus on one story and diagram the plot. Then discuss what is interesting about the structure. Be sure to discuss the conflict and pinpoint the climax.

4. Discuss Alexie's use of humor. What are the strategies he uses to produce humor? What effects does the humor have on developing the stories, characters, and themes? 

5. Giving attention to at least three stories assigned this time, discuss what one or two themes  you see carrying through the collection of stories.

6. Formulate and respond to your own question, engaging the reading.

Note: the midsemester discussion evaluation is due Tuesday, October 7, 2003

RR 9 for Thursday, October 9, 2003

1. Discuss how you would turn this collection of stories into a feature film. What thread would you choose to emphasize and how would you go about adapting the work for film?

2. Identify three common stereotypes people have of Native Americans. Discuss how Alexie's stories confront these stereotypes and the impact of such stereotypes on the Native American soul. If we begin to laugh and to cry in response to these stereotypes, might we begin to move beyond them? And then where would be?

3. Visit the official website of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe at http://www.cdatribe.org/index.html to learn about the history and future of the Coeur d'Alene as they present it. Then discuss three discoveries you made in your reading that help you better to understand or appreciate Alexie's stories.

4. Visit the official Sherman Alexie website at http://www.fallsapart.com/ to learn about Alexie's life and work. Pay particular attention to the interview section, although you maybe should save excursions into Smoke Signals until you have seen the film. Then discuss three discoveries you made in your reading that help you better to understand or appreciate Alexie's stories.

5. Attend to what Alexie writes about the nature and function of memory. Then consider how his literary art carries out this approach in how his characters relate to past, present, and future. Cite specific examples from at least two stories.

6. Compare and contrast the characters of Victor and Thomas Builds the Fire. What do they each value? Are you sympathetic to both of them? Why or why not?

7. Discuss Alexie's use of humor. What are the strategies he uses to produce humor? What effects does the humor have on developing the stories, characters, and themes? 

8. Formulate and respond to your own question, engaging the reading.

RR 10 for Tuesday, October 14, 2003

For this discussion you are asked to watch Smoke Signals--either Thursday, October 9 at the Fargo Theatre at 7 p.m. or Sunday, October 12 in Jones 212S at 7 p.m. (Principia Film Series) or on your own (a copy is available on Library Reserve under PRI 197--but do not plan to check it out Sunday evening, Oct. 12)

1. Compare and contrast the collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven with the feature film Smoke Signals. What specifically do you find to be successful and effective about the adaptation? Was there anything that surprised you in the choices Alexie (as screenplay writer), Eyre (as director), and the others involved made in the adaptation?  

2. Read "Sending Cinematic Smoke Signals: An Interview with Sherman Alexie" by Dennis West and Joan M. West at http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/alexie.html and then discuss three discoveries you made in your reading that help you better to understand or appreciate Alexie's stories and the film.

3. Visit the Principia Film Series Study Guide at http://www.cord.edu/faculty/luther/principia/film/Smoke_Signals.html and respond to one of the questions, drawing also upon what you know of the literary source of the film.

4. Formulate and respond to your own question, engaging the reading.

RR 11 for Tuesday, October 28, 2003:

1.  Select and discuss a passage or two that strikes you as unusually beautiful, significant, meaningful, or troubling.

2.  Describe Nick Carraway. What facts do you know about him, and what do you infer about him? What kind of a narrator do you think he is? Is he reliable or unreliable?  Is he trustworthy? Is he careful or careless? How does he handle commitment? What does he desire? Nick starts the novel by relaying his father's advice "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." Does he “reserve all judgment” (5) as he claims?

3. Compare and contrast the male characters of the novel.

4. Compare and contrast the female characters of the novel.

5. Who is careless and who is careful in the novel. What is significant about this difference?

6. Explain how Fitzgerald uses setting to emphasize the differences between the social classes.

7. Discuss what one or two of the following symbols represent in the novel:
a) the valley of ashes
b) the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg
c) the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock (and elsewhere)
d) the mantle clock
e) Daisy’s voice “full of money”

8. The Great Gatsby is often referred to as the quintessential novel of the "Jazz Age." Using examples from the book, explain what this term meant, and Fitzgerald's attitudes towards that characterization of the 1920s

9. Which image of America do you acquire from The Great Gatsby? What does the contrast between East and West contribute to this image? Does this image coincide with what you think about America at present?

October 30 and November 4: Draft of Part I of Gatsby Paper Due

RR 12 for Thursday, November 6, 2003:

1. What did you find most compelling about Tyson's "'. . . next they'll throw everything overboard . . .': A Feminist Reading of The Great Gatsby" (102-113)? What did you find to be particularly convincing? Is there any part that does not hold up to closer scrutiny? Could you take the argument even further than Tyson does?

2. What did you find most compelling about Tyson's "You are What You Own: A Marxist Reading of The Great Gatsby" (66-77)? What did you find to be particularly convincing? Is there any part that does not hold up to closer scrutiny? Could you take the argument even further than Tyson does?

3. Go to the library and read one of the works Tyson refers to as a Marxist or feminist interpretation of The Great Gatsby. Then follow all of the steps from the directions for an assignment I call "Critical Point":

Works Cited Entry: Provide an MLA entry for the article at the top of the page.

Central Point: What is the critic’s thesis (main idea)? The thesis may not be directly stated but implied. It may take you two or three sentences to clearly capture the author’s central point.

Summary of the Argument: How does the critic develop the case for her or his central point? List the main points of the article that validate or support the central point. Quote pertinent passages.

Values and Assumptions: In the article, the author will imply, or perhaps even directly state, what he or she values in regards to the issues being raised. Identify what those values and assumptions are. You may have to read between the lines to uncover what the author considers important.

Evaluation: In this section you evaluate the argument by responding to the author’s message and methods. Where do you agree and/or disagree with the author’s premises and/or conclusions?

Applications/Questions: Discuss what implications and applications the issues of the article have for our study of the primary text. What questions does the article raise that are worth considering? How can we apply the information in this article to our study in this class? Provide a list of discussion questions for the class based on the ideas in the article. Be sure to pose your questions so that they can be addressed by an audience who may not have read the critical article.

4. Approach one of the other works we have studied (such as a story from Lone Ranger . . ., Shark Dialogues, Mother to Mother, or The Conversion of Ka'ahumanu) through the Marxist or feminist critical lens. The section entitled "Some Questions Marxist [or Feminist] Critics Ask About Literary Texts" can help you get started.

5. Without merely repeating Tyson, develop a Marxist or feminist response to Part I of your Gatsby essay.

6. What you learn about the contemporary schools of literary and cultural theory and criticism is transferable knowledge. Discuss how your study of Marxism or feminism complements your learning in another class. (For example, you might consider how a professor's or classmate's interpretation of a New Testament story took a Marxist approach. Or you might reflect on how your sociology class helps you appreciate the theoretical principles and terminology upon which the assumptions of feminist criticism depend.

7. To what extent do you see yourself, after reading this chapter in Tyson, as a Marxist critic of the culture around you? What Marxist principles do you espouse? What applications and implications do you see for how you look at the art and entertainment around you? Give one or two specific examples (i.e., how might you use this lens to interpret a movie, a television episode, an advertisement, song lyrics, an Olympic opening ceremony, a Superbowl halftime show, a children's book, a toy, a political speech or commercial, a sacred text, etc.). In your examples, be sure to pinpoint a specific case with details rather than make blanket statements.

8. To what extent do you see yourself, after reading this chapter in Tyson, as a feminist critic of the culture around you? What feminist principles do you espouse? What applications and implications do you see for how you look at the art and entertainment around you? Give one or two specific examples (i.e., how might you use this lens to interpret a movie, a television episode, an advertisement, song lyrics, an Olympic opening ceremony, a Superbowl halftime show, a children's book, a toy, a political speech or commercial, a sacred text, etc.). In your examples, be sure to pinpoint a specific case with details rather than make blanket statements.

RR 13 for Thursday, November 13, 2003:

1. What did you find most compelling about Tyson's "'Seek and Ye Shall Find'. . . and Then Lose: A Structuralist Reading of The Great Gatsby" (226-237)? What did you find to be particularly convincing? Is there any part that does not hold up to closer scrutiny? Could you take the argument even further than Tyson does?

2. Approach one of the other works we have studied (such as a story from Lone Ranger . . ., Shark Dialogues, Mother to Mother, a poem, or The Conversion of Ka'ahumanu) through a Structuralist critical lens. The section entitled "Some Questions Structuralist Critics Ask About Literary Texts" (224-225) can help you get started.

3. Without merely repeating Tyson, develop a Structuralist response to Part I of your Gatsby essay.

4. What you learn about the contemporary schools of literary and cultural theory and criticism is transferable knowledge. Discuss how your study of Structuralism complements your learning in another class. (For example, you might consider how a professor's or classmate's interpretation of a New Testament story took a Structuralist approach. Or you might reflect on how your Communications class helps you appreciate the theoretical principles and terminology upon which the assumptions of structuralist criticism depend.

5. To what extent do you see yourself, after reading this chapter in Tyson, as a Structuralist critic of the culture around you? What Structuralist principles do you espouse? What applications and implications do you see for how you look at the art and entertainment around you? Give one or two specific examples (i.e., how might you use this lens to interpret a movie, a television episode, an advertisement, song lyrics, an Olympic opening ceremony, a Superbowl halftime show, a children's book, a toy, a political speech or commercial, a sacred text, etc.). In your examples, be sure to pinpoint a specific case with details rather than make blanket statements.

RR 14 for Tuesday, November 18, 2003:

1. What did you find most compelling about Tyson's "'. . . the thrilling, returning trains of my youth . . .': A Deconstructive Reading of The Great Gatsby" (261-274)? What did you find to be particularly convincing? Is there any part that does not hold up to closer scrutiny? Could you take the argument even further than Tyson does?

2. Approach one of the other works we have studied (such as a story from Lone Ranger . . ., Shark Dialogues, Mother to Mother, a poem, or The Conversion of Ka'ahumanu) through a deconstructive critical lens. The section entitled "Some Questions Deconstructive Critics Ask About Literary Texts" (259-260) can help you get started.

3. Without merely repeating Tyson, develop a Deconstructive response to Part I of your Gatsby essay.

4. What you learn about the contemporary schools of literary and cultural theory and criticism is transferable knowledge. Discuss how your study of Deconstruction complements your learning in another class. (For example, you might consider how a professor's or classmate's interpretation of a New Testament story took a Deconstructive approach. Or you might reflect on how your film class helps you appreciate the theoretical principles and terminology upon which the assumptions of deconstruction depend.

5. To what extent do you see yourself, after reading this chapter in Tyson, as a deconstructive critic of the culture around you? What deconstructive principles do you espouse? What applications and implications do you see for how you look at the art and entertainment around you? Give one or two specific examples (i.e., how might you use this lens to interpret a movie, a television episode, an advertisement, song lyrics, an Olympic opening ceremony, a Superbowl halftime show, a children's book, a toy, a political speech or commercial, a sacred text, etc.). In your examples, be sure to pinpoint a specific case with details rather than make blanket statements.

RR 15 for Tuesday, November 25, 2003:

1. What did you find most compelling about Tyson's "Will the Real Nick Carraway Please Come Out?: A Queer Reading of The Great Gatsby" (345-357)? What did you find to be particularly convincing? Is there any part that does not hold up to closer scrutiny? Could you take the argument even further than Tyson does?

2. Approach one of the other works we have studied (such as a story from Lone Ranger . . ., Shark Dialogues, Mother to Mother, a poem, or The Conversion of Ka'ahumanu) through a queer lens. The section entitled "Some Questions Lesbian, Gay, and Queer Critics Ask About Literary Texts" (344-345) can help you get started.

3. Without merely repeating Tyson, develop a Queer response to Part I of your Gatsby essay.

4. What you learn about the contemporary schools of literary and cultural theory and criticism is transferable knowledge. Discuss how your study of Queer Theory complements your learning in another class. (For example, you might consider how a professor's or classmate's interpretation of a New Testament story took a Queer approach. Or you might reflect on how your philosophy class helps you appreciate the theoretical principles and terminology upon which the assumptions of queer theory depend.

5. To what extent do you see yourself, after reading this chapter in Tyson, as a queer critic of the culture around you? What queer principles do you espouse? What applications and implications do you see for how you look at the art and entertainment around you? Give one or two specific examples (i.e., how might you use this lens to interpret a movie, a television episode, an advertisement, song lyrics, an Olympic opening ceremony, a Superbowl halftime show, a children's book, a toy, a political speech or commercial, a sacred text, etc.). In your examples, be sure to pinpoint a specific case with details rather than make blanket statements.

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