Heuristic 1 & 2 due (Tumblr): for draft meeting
Draft Meetings (individual): 11/5 & 11/10
Final Due: 11/17 via Tumblr
For this assignment, I’d like you to write about either Tortilla Curtain or Americanah. You can use one of these prompts, or you can develop your own, but you will need to discuss that with me. In either case, as part of the invention activities, I will ask you to write a paragraph in which you explain what topic you are going to develop and I’d like you to include your thesis to show me that you have a debatable argument. Remember, our focus is on what these novels tell us about our culture today. What arguments about our culture, if you will, are these novels making? How do they function as rhetorical artifacts? In addition to the textual evidence you find in the novels, consider real life incidents and your own experience as further proof for your thesis and claims.
1. At the beginning of the novel Delaney claims to be very content in his role as a house husband and in his place in the community, but as the novel progresses the obvious signs of his discontentment and distress grow, but also his inability to do anything to change his circumstance. In contrast, Candido is very vocal about his discomfort with losing his masculine role, and as the novel progresses he fights an uphill battle to provide for his wife and baby and survive while regaining his masculine position. Considering both men, make a statement about what Boyle is saying about dreams versus illusions and gender. Consider the following questions in shaping your thesis:
Are both men caught in an illusion that neither wishes to escape?
What happens to people when they discover their dreams are no more than mere illusions as seen by Delaney and Candido?
Is it possible to achieve dreams or are we all caught in illusions?
What are the little things we do (as seen in the novel) to trick ourselves that our illusions are tangible?
2. Candido’s final gesture at the end of the novel could be considered a great act of humanity, which lends itself to the larger rhetorical theme that when labels are shed we are all the same fighting to survive. Considering both Delaney and Candido, write an essay that explores the similarities and differences between both men, arguing whether or not despite differences in class, race, culture, and position we are more similar than different. If it had been Delaney who had to reach out and save Candido would he have done it? Think about the different juxtapositions presented throughout the novel in forming your thesis, including:
3. Throughout the novel, Delaney maintains that he is a naturalist and an environmentalist, a man at peace in the wild. Yet, he lives in a sub-division, which is encroaching on the wild with disastrous results. Considering the coyote, fire, flood, increased human population, and invasive species present in the novel what statement is being made about man in nature. Is it possible in the 21st century for man to be the protector of natural spaces, or is man the destroyer? How can people strike a balance or find a pure connection in nature without destroying or harming what we seek to protect? Is it possible?
1. Ifemelu writes in her blog that “black people are not supposed to be angry about racism” because their anger makes whites uncomfortable. Argue that race is an essential element in the experience of reading Americanah? Likewise, how might race affect our ability to identify or empathize with the struggles of Ifemelu and Obinze?
2. As we have spoke about in class, immigration forces us to give part of our culture up, that is, it fundamentally changes us. In Adiche’s text, the term “Americanah” is used for Nigerians who have been changed by having lived in America. Like those in the novel’s Nigerpolitan Club, they have become critical of their native land and culture: “They were sanctified, the returnees, back home with an extra gleaming layer”. Argue for the significance of this title and how cultural transformation is an essential process of immigration.
3. Ifemelu’s blog is a venue for expressing her experience as an African immigrant and for provoking a conversation about race and migration. She says, “I discovered race in America and it fascinated me”. Additionally she asks, “How many other people had become black in America?” Argue for or against why Ifemelu’s blog is significant in terms of her transformation. Can you think of some contemporary examples of online media that are likewise important in terms of cultural/gender transformation?
4. Adiche makes a significant amount of popular culture/cultural references in Americanah. These include blogging/references to Michelle Obama and Beyoncé and black women’s hair, African music, fashion, and food. Argue for the significance of these cultural markers as vehicles that highlight a sense of cultural memory and a a useful means of examining race and national identity in the text. How do they function? What is their purpose?
Create a Mixtape CD of contemporary Nigerian music (must be at least 10 songs) that acts as a powerful political/social/cultural critique that challenges structures of power. Your focus should be on how music is rhetorically effective in creating a vehicle for socio-political transformation. Your CD should have extensive liner notes that highlight the artist, meaning and structure of songs, and significance. It should also be packaged creatively. You will include a one-page rationale that highlights how the music you chose relates to and comments on the themes in Americanah.
Your purpose in these essays is to persuade readers (the class and of course me) that you have a valid argument. Therefore, you are really writing an argument in which you want to persuade your readers that you have a reasonable set of claims. To accomplish this, you will need a clear thesis supported by reasons and textual evidence from the novel.
Your textual evidence, by way of quotations and details from the novel, should be carefully integrated into your essay. Remember that quotations should always be incorporated into sentences with your words. A quotation cannot stand on its own as a sentence. No orphan quotes please. Quotations illustrate your ideas. After a quotation, you should explain to the reader that quotation shows. Don’t make the reader make the connection between your claim and quotation. That’s your job as the writer. You can incorporate a quotation into your sentence by using a comma, a “that clause” or a colon.
You may use outside sources such as the book reviews, interviews, and articles you find via the ASU Library, but these are not necessary for your paper. If you do use outside sources, make sure you do not plagiarize by giving full credit to the author even if you just paraphrase rather than quote the idea. Remember, generally your thesis comes at the end of the first paragraph in which you introduce the novel and your focus. Your conclusion should do more than merely summarize the novel. You should, instead, consider the implications of what you have demonstrated or argued in your paper. In other words, do conclude something.
Heuristic Activities 1 & 2
Completing these invention activities will help you produce a better paper and should help you avoid the “staring at a blank screen the night before the paper is due.”
Write out your first draft of a thesis and then give a series of reasons or claims that you will develop to support your thesis. After each claim, explain which passage from the novel/articles will help you prove this and find a relevant quote.
When you have a working introduction, develop a series of topic sentences. As you develop your topic sentences, try to include transitional devices (such as however, or in addition, or furthermore and so on) to help you link one paragraph to the one that went before. Remember, transitional devices go at the beginning of new paragraphs and not at the end.
Your project should be 1000-1500 words and formatted based on medium. If you do the creative option, please see me.
You will format and submit the final draft of your essay, with a creative title, your name, and the tag “ENG317-Project 2” to your Tumblr.
discoholicmusic
titsay
stormborns
prguitarman
andulkaphoto
tangentwithtanner
ellievsbear