Final Blog Project for ENG-355: Multicultural Literature.

What are some things that are expected “rules” and “roles” within society? How do these roles and rules shape us and the way we think and interact with people and how we view others and ourselves? The story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid is an interesting example of the role and rules that a woman is supposed to follow within the culture of Antigua . However, this story is set up in a way that allows for many, if not the majority of women, to relate to it. The terms and phrases used in it such as “don’t talk to that boy” or the derogatory name “slut”, are a fairly common theme around the world. I would have the students analyze the authors choice of words, tone and imagery. How does the tone make the reader feel? How do the word choices affect the reading and connotations of the story? How does the imagery better depict the author’s meaning and purpose? I found this list of questions to generate discussion about Girl, which would be good to use during either individual work or group work: 

Madness, social conformity, and confronting social norms. In the Man of La Mancha, Diary of a Madman, and Sealed Off, these things are addressed in a way that is surprising. Each of them use a foreboding type of tone, that provides a sense of urgency. Diary of a Madman could be used to discuss the themes of mental illness, social issues and the interwoven themes of testing cultural norms. I think that as a teacher we can ask the students whether they know anyone with a mental illness. If they do, ask them what they know about the different types of conditions. You could also ask the students to do a character analysis and tell whether they think there might be some sort of truth behind the madman’s rantings, or if he is really insane.   Here is a hyperlink to a discussion questions based off of “The Diary of a Madman”. It may provide inspiration. http://fajardo-acosta.com/worldlit/luxun/diary.htm       In Man of La Mancha, the students could be required to analyze connotations

The Holocaust was a terrible and painful time. The idea of eugenics and killing those who didn’t fit into the mold, which was planned by those in power, is a hard thing to come to terms with now. Because the Holocaust and events like it, that are surrounded by death, pain and suffering and are a difficult subject in general, I think that I would emphasize the themes of pain, death and suffering. The students deal with these things in their lives as well, so it will be a relatable topic for them and one that is important to discuss. The story This Way for Gas Ladies and Gentlemen and the poem Deathfugue both deal with themes of the pain, suffering and death that accompanies war and death by genocide. I think I would have the students choose specific passages for both and compare the imagery within the stories and discuss how the imagery and tone influence the feel and read of the stories. What are the differences? What are the similarities? How do those differences make the storie

What is the benefit of teaching Latin American Literature, especially in Arizona? I can think of quite a few, considering we have a large population of Latino and Latina students in our schools. Teaching Latin American Literature not only teaches those who are not Latino, about the culture, but also teaches those who are of Latin American descent more about their culture. For this section of readings, I would emphasize the role of choices and consequences. For both “The Garden of the Forking paths” and “And of Clay We Are Created” I would have the students make inferences about the text and what will happen to the characters based on the foreshadowing details. They would do this by annotating the text individually.  I would ask them to compare and contrast the characters’ choices in both stories, in groups, and write down and share out their findings. I would also ask each student to think of a time when their choices affected them either negatively or positively, and share the out