Final Blog Post and Farewell!

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: http://www.shmoop.com/girl-kincaid/questions.html 
            The story Wedding at the Cross is a good example I think of the effect of peer-pressure and expectations the themes I would emphasize in this lesson are the roles expected within society and the ways that people’s expectations and the pressure from others can affect us. In Wedding at the Cross, I would have the students analyze the character development and whether they think the changes that Wariuki made to conform to Miriamu’s family’s standard was something that they would have done, and discuss whether that was the right thing for him to do, in their opinion?
For the popular culture part of this lesson, I would ask each of the students to write out a time when they felt peer-pressured like Wariuki and what they did in response to that pressure.  
In conclusion, society and the expectations that they have for us influence who we are and who we become. It is important to make sure that, at the end of the day, our students know how and when listening to society is a good thing.  

Farewell Note: Thank you for taking the time to read my blog about Multicultural Literature and I hope that they were insightful and entertaining. J          



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