Part 1
Write a 250 word (minimum) response to Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif.” In your response, please answer the following questions, but try to write it like a mini-essay, with an intro and rough thesis and at least one body paragraph (that would include at least one direct quotation from Morrison’s story).
1. Why do you think Morrison does not reveal the girls’ races in the beginning of the story? What effect does this have on you as you read?
2. By the end of the story, we know that Roberta is black (she is opposed the school desegregation). What larger point is Morrison making here? It’s much more than “race doesn’t matter” because it’s clear that in many ways it does. So when and how and why does it matter in general and in this story?
Part 2
Write a 350 word (minimum) response to Maxine Hong Kingston: Read Kingston’s bio and The Woman Warrior excerpt and Gloria Anzaldua’s narratives. Read Anzaldua’s bio and “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” In your response, answer the following questions, but try to write your response like a “mini-essay” with an introduction paragraph at at least one body paragraph that include a short direct quotation from both “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” and The Woman Warrior.
1. In what ways are these two authors similar?
2. In what ways are they different?
3 What key themes do you see?
4. How does the “lecture” reading on contemporary lit help you understand them.
Part 3
Read Gwendolyn Brooks: The Mother and Adrienne Rich: Snapshots of a Daughter in Law. Write a 350 word (minimum) in which you address the following questions. As before, write your response like a mini-essay with an introduction (including a thesis) and at least one body paragraph with at least two short quotations.
1. What common themes do you see?
2. How does any of the background reading help you understand meaning?
��
