Blog Post Six: The Garden of Forking Paths and Of Clay We are Created.

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 outcome. I would ask the students then to write an alternative ending to “The Garden of Forking Paths” and share what ‘choices’ they changed for the characters and why they did so.

I think that the popular culture element that could be used in this lesson would be the distant feeling that was portrayed through the technology use in “And of Clay We Are Created” and how that distance is seen in today’s culture. The following hyperlink contains discussion questions that can be used to break the class into groups of 2 to 4 and allow them to dive deeper into the story. https://alinihatekenblog.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/discussion-questions-for-isabel-allende%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cand-of-clay-are-we-created%E2%80%9D-1991/


In conclusion, I think that in today’s day and age, it is important for students to understand the value and weight of making their own choices and these stories allow for them to contemplate that in a fun and creative way, while allowing them to see the value of choice and the consequences of those choices.  
  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Post Three: Man of La Mancha and Diary of a Madman

Image
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 an...
Read more

Blog Post Two: Yuan Zhen, the Story of Yingying and Confucius

Image
I think would emphasize the role of duty or responsibility within a culture. That was a big theme in this week’s readings. Both of stories Yuan Zhen, the Story of Yingying , and the story of Confucius dealt with the roles in society that we are meant or expected to play. In Confucius's teachings it is more overtly apparent. He speaks of duty, honor, family and parent-child relationships, among other things. All of these things have to do with the responsibilities he placed importance on within his culture. In Yuan Zhen, the Story of Yingying , it was more implied: the woman was supposed to be respectable and marry whoever her family told her to, and the man was meant to be “manly” and participate in what society expects. As teachers, we should talk to our students about how they view their responsibilities in their culture and what they consist of. I could also ask them how the gender roles play into how expectations change for individuals and ask them to provide exampl...
Read more

Blog Post Seven: This Way for Gas Ladies and Gentlemen and Deathfugue.

Image
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...
Read more