ENG 340/AFRI 340: Multicultural American Literature Exam ...
ENG 340/AFRI 340: Multicultural American Literature Exam #1 [Take Home—20%]
Your take home examination consists of four questions. You must type essay responses to all four questions, using the standard format identified in policy #3 in our on-line course syllabus: The answers will be typed, double-spaced, using the standard Times New Roman 12 font and presented on 8 ½ by 11 inch paper with 1 inch margins on all four sides of the page. In the upper left hand corner of page one, place your name, the course number, Examination #1, and the date of submission.
Your Take Home Examination Will Be Submitted On Wednesday, October 6, During Our Regularly Scheduled Class Meeting.
Part I. In response to each question, type a 1 ½ to 2 page discussion of two stories from the list following each question. The strongest answers, and therefore the ones that will receive the highest scores, will begin with a clear, concise topic statement that directly responds to the issue identified in the question and suggests a comparison/contrast of the two stories. Of course, the topic statement will function both as your direct answer to the question and as the thesis of your short essay, so you would do well to carefully consider how you intend to frame your response through the opening statements. These topic statements should also draw on concepts or facts presented in our essay readings [Takaki, Dubois, web information, etc…] to help establish a focused context for discussing the selected stories. Finally, strong answers will demonstrate close reading of the assignments by presenting concrete details and short, properly documented quotations from the discussed stories.
1. A number of our stories emphasize assimilation to American culture by representing conflicts between parents and their children. Briefly discuss how TWO of the following stories depict the difficulties experienced by first generation Americans who feel pressure to, in Takaki’s words, “embrace their twoness.” [20 Points]
“Monkey Business” by Joseph Geha
“A Moving Day” by Susan Nuňes
“Seventeen Syllables” by Hisaye Yamamoto
2. Some of our stories emphasize difference within cultural groups, questioning our tendency to stereotype all members of what DuBois labels a “segregated caste.” Discuss howTWO of the following stories expose differences and conflicts within what we might tend to consider a uniform racial or ethnic group. [20 points]
“Wiltshire Bus” by Hisaye Yamamoto
“When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” by Jhumpa Lahiri
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker.
3. At least three of our stories aggressively question the relations among history, myth, and legend and by doing so comment on issues of both personal and cultural identity. Discuss how TWO the following stories connect legend and/or history to characters’ sense of identity. [20 points]
“Yellow Woman” by Leslie Marmon Silko
“Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros
“The Legend of Miss Sasagawara” by Hisaye Yamamoto
Part II. Write a two page, typed discussion of Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies” focusing on how issues in the study of multicultural American literature developed in our previous readings and classroom discussions help you to understand the central personal and cultural identity issues in the story. Of course, there is no single correct answer to this question. However, it would be difficult to define the central identity issues of the story without careful consideration of Mr. Kapasi’s role as narrator of the story and without a close look at Kapasi’s attitudes toward the Das family and at the conflicts within the family. By story’s end, what comment has Lahiri made about immigration and American identity? [40 Points]
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