Sunday, September 23, 2012

Phase 1 Writing Prompts for Oct. 1

Here are the writing prompts for Phase 1. Don't forget to post your 500–750-word reading responses by 9:00 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 1. As always, I am available during office hours and via email if you need any advice during the writing process. The Writing Center is also a valuable resource; they are open 9:00 to 5:00, MWF, on the first floor of the Philosophy building next door.

Prompt 1: Throughout the stories Alexie vividly evokes the fragility of the tribal world. There is a sense that the tribe threatens to die out: "Sometimes it feels like our tribe is dying a piece of fry bread at a time" (199). Consider these questions: How does this sense of threat to the culture affect the lives of the characters? How does it inform the tone in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven? What sort of humor prevails? 

To answer these questions, choose a short story from the book and identifyillustrate, and discuss one or two literary devices (like characterization and tone) that Alexie uses to "vividly evoke the fragility of the tribal world." 

For this prompt, please research an aspect of Native American history or culture that provides insight into the short story that you choose to discuss. Don't forget to provide citations for your research.


Prompt 2: For this prompt, view the following three-minute video clip of Victor and Thomas Builds-the-Fire on their way to Phoenix, Arizona, from Smoke Signals, the film version of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. How well do you think this clip captures the characters of Victor, Thomas, and what it means to "be Indian" as they are presented in Alexie's book? In your response, compare and contrast this clip with one (maybe two) short story of your choosing from the book. Be sure to support your claims with a variety of textual evidence and discuss your observations in terms of how the film clip obscures or supports the overall themes and tone of Alexie's novel.

Consider integrating outside research on Smoke Signals the film: how it was written, where it was shown, how it was received, etc. Don't forget to provide citations for your research.

Prompt 3: In his Introduction, Sherman Alexie confesses the largely autobiographical nature of these stories, but he also asserts that they really are not true. They are the vision of "one individual looking at the lives of his family and his entire tribe, so these stories are necessarily biased, incomplete, exaggerated, deluded, and often just plain wrong. But in trying to make them true and real, I am writing what might be called reservation realism." He doesn't explain "reservation realism," but rather points to the stories and instructs the reader "to figure that out for yourself." What, in fact, do you think he means by "reservation realism"?

As you write your response, remember to focus your discussion on just one (maybe two) specific short story from the book. Please incorporate a little outside research to provide background for the parts of the stories that draw from actual Native American culture and reservation life. (For example, you could research Indian boarding schools from the mid-1900s and argue how realistic or unrealistic the narrator's experiences are in "Indian Education." Do the narrator's experiences seem typical? Does the variety of the kinds of schools he attends seem typical?) Don't forget to provide citations for your research.

Already have an idea of what you want to write about? Great! Go for it. I do, however, require that if you do not follow one of the above prompts, you must email me in advance your thesis statement or the question of your own that you want to answer. This way, I can give you helpful feedback concerning scope and depth, and you can rest assured that you are on the right track for this assignment.

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