Gender Roles

The ways in which we think about gender--what constitutes masculinity or femininity--are products of a socially constructed ideology so ingrained in our beliefs systems that it dictates how we think about ourselves and how we act in relation to one another. Think about the role that gender plays in Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street. How does gender affect characters' beliefs about themselves and the ways in which they act in the world? More specifically, in what ways do characters adhere to what is socially acceptable according to their gender roles? In what ways are these roles defied?

Now consider this issue beyond the scope of the novel. Do they function the same way in the world today? In what ways do our genders dictate our behavior and influence the ways we think about ourselves and our place in our communities (family, workplace, school, etc)?

Woman Warriors

The title of Maxine Hong Kingston's novel The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts suggests, in its use of the definite article "the," that this memoir is about one particular woman warrior, not a woman warrior but the woman warrior. Who is the woman alluded to in the title? (Justify your answer.)

What is your definition of a woman warrior? How does your definition contrast with Kingston's? What other women in the novel could be characterized as warrior women, and how do these women influence Kingston's journey into womanhood as she attempts to navigate her Chinese and American idenetities as well as what it means to be a woman in both cultures? Finally, do you believe Kingston succeeds in becoming a warrior woman herself? Why or why not?

Beloved -- Reader Response

Select a brief passage from Toni Morrison's novel Beloved that spoke to you in some powerful way. This could be a passage that you could identify with due to personal beliefs or life experiences. It could be a passage from which you learned something you find especially valuable, or even a passage that you found particularly problematic for some reason. Share this passage and explain how it spoke to you. Probe it for some deeper meaning that it contributes to the novel as a whole but also how that meaning is relevant to your life. In other words, how does the passage enrich your understanding of both the novel and the world around you?

Home Sweet Home

We've all heard the cliche: Home sweet home. But what is "home," exactly? Is it our place of residence? The house we grew up in? Is it the coffee house, bar, or some other hangout where we meet up with our loved ones? Is it a place at all? Does it refer to family? (And for that matter, what is family?) Friends? Strangers? Is a home merely inhabited, or does it serve some greater purpose? Is love there? Hate? Indifference? Is it a safe place or a dangerous one? Is home something external, or does it only exist within us? What is a home supposed to be? Whatever our individual definitions of "home," we all likely consider some place, some situation, or some gathering of people "home." Consider the conventional definition of "home" and how your own idea of "home" either confirms or denies that.

However you define home and family, A Home at the End of the World may challenge that definition as it portrays what many people consider to be very unconventional ideas of family life. Spending some time thinking about your own views of these concepts will prepare you for thinking more deeply about these concepts in the film as we discuss them in class.

Indian Killer / Reader Response

Select a brief passage from Sherman Alexie's novel Indian Killer that spoke to you in some powerful way. This could be a passage that you could identify with due to personal beliefs or life experiences. It could be a passage from which you learned something you find especially valuable, or even a passage that you found particularly problematic for some reason. Share this passage and explain how it spoke to you. Probe it for some deeper meaning that it contributes to the novel as a whole but also how that meaning is relevant to your life. In other words, how does the passage enrich your understanding of both the novel and the world around you?

The Power of Stories

Inherent in words, some believe, is the power of life and death. In many cultures, stories are revered as having great power both to create and destroy. According to Christian mythology, the world was spoken into existence. "God said..." and then it was. The idea that "In the beginning was the word" transcends the confines of Christianity to many world religions. In Native American mythology, words have similar power when brought together in story, and violating the sacredness of stories was believed to result in terrible, tragic consequences as indicated by the anecdote of anthropologist Barre Toelken in the article "'Was Jesus an Indian?' Fighting Stories with Stories in Sherman Alexie's Indian Killer." After reading this article, examine the act of storytelling in the novel. How do the characters use stories? What do the stories accomplish? In what ways do stories have the power to create and destroy?

Finally, examine the ways in which stories are used in the world outside the novel. The entire scope of human existence is encapsulated by and preserved through stories. Who we are in the world is determined by the stories we tell about ourselves and the stories others tell about us. In what ways do stories exert power in the world? In what ways do they exert power over people and events? Do stories have the power to create and destroy? Can they determine the details of our everyday lives? Consider these questions both on a macro- and microscopic level as they affect the world and our individual human lives.

What is "The American Dream?"

The American Dream is one of our country's greatest promises and arguably one of its greatest myths. But what is it exactly? When people speak of "the American Dream," what exactly are they referring to? Where did the idea of the American Dream come from? How did it evolve? And what does it mean today? I don't expect you to have immediate answers, but I do expect you to find legitimate answers as opposed to inventing something or relying on your own personal opinions. 

The American Dream does have two sides, however: its more objective foundation in a long tradition of American mythology and its subjective meaning to each of us as we apply that mythos to our individual lives. So what does the American Dream mean to you? What is your American Dream?

What is the Novel?

We all know what a novel is. Right? We've all read them--some of us only because we had to for school, some of us because we enjoy getting lost in a story. But surely, we can explain what a novel is. Easy peasy.

Or is it? What exactly are the characteristics of a book that make it a novel? Write your own definition and add it as a comment on this post. Consider length, genre, and any other components you think are characteristic of novels. Be as specific and thorough in your definition as possible. And whatever you do, don't look it up in a dictionary or google the word to see what other people have to say. I'm interested in finding out what you think a novel is, how you would describe a novel to someone who didn't understand the difference between it and a short story, movie, podcast, or any other medium of storytelling.

Let's see if together we can actually define what a novel is. It's not as easy as you might think.