6.2 Post – Humorous Memoir Literary Elements

The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to the literary genre of humorous memoir and provide you with an opportunity to learn the terms we use when we analyze this genre. You will also recognize that a non-fiction memoir and a fictional short story share some elements. Providing textual support for your ideas is an important component in analyzing literature. Learning to read carefully to identify those elements helps you become a more critical reader.

Directions

• Read the linked essay and then listen to David Sedaris read the essay.
  • “Youth in Asia” essay by David Sedaris
  • “Youth in Asia” (Links to an external site.) audio reading by David Sedaris. Scroll down and click the play arrow by Act One: The Youth in Asia.
• Write a paragraph on reading vs. listening. Answer the following question:
  • How did the meaning change or become more clear through listening to his reading?
• Find specific quotations from the story that exemplify literary terms.
  • Find quotations that represent Plot and Structure, Point of View, Character, Setting, Imagery, and Theme.
  • Remember that point of view, when used in literary analysis, is not the same as attitudes, beliefs, interpretations, etc.; it refers explicitly to who is telling the story – first-person, second-person, third-person – and how much knowledge that narrator has into other characters’ consciousnesses and how reliable he/she/they seem to be.
  • Also note that a theme in a story, for our purposes, does not mean a subject or a topic; a theme is an overall message or meaning of a story that a reader states as an observation about life in general or a recommendation for readers (not just characters).
  • List these six elements and then write a sentence explaining how the quotation demonstrates that element.
  • Example:
    Plot– “As I moved my chair a little nearer suddenly with one catlike movement both her hands clawed instinctively for my eyes and she almost reached them too.” This quotation demonstrates plot because it develops the action of the story and advances toward the climax.
  • Find a different quotation for each element, six total.
• Post your paragraph, quotations, and sentences as a “reply” to the discussion

6.3 Discuss – Theme and a Related Literary Element

The purpose of this assignment is to practice identifying a theme in a work of non-fiction and practice stating that theme as a one sentence observation or recommendation for readers (instead of stating a theme as a subject or topic). By relating one of the literary elements from 6.2 to one of several possible themes, you will reinforce your understanding of how the elements can work together to help establish and support themes. Note that there is not usually one specific theme of a work; there may be dozens of themes, depending upon the reader and the reading situation or context.

Directions

• Re-examine the quotation that you chose to demonstrate theme in “Youth in Asia” by David Sedaris (Note: Refer back to activity 6.2). For your reference, the resources are provided again below.
  • “Youth in Asia” essay by David Sedaris
  • “Youth in Asia” (Links to an external site.) audio reading by David Sedaris. The reading is Act I of the episode called “In Dog We Trust” from the This American Life website. Scroll down and click the play arrow by Act One: The Youth in Asia.
• Write your own sentence in which you state one theme of “Youth in Asia” in your own words.
  • Check your work based on the following questions:
    • Is the theme you identified stated as an observation about a particular human characteristic (not only about the characters)?
    • Or, also acceptable: Is the theme you identified stated as a recommendation about how to live one’s life (again, not only a recommendation for the characters in the story)?
    • Avoid stating a mere topic as a theme. Do not say, for example, “The theme is the death of pets.” That is one subject or topic of the essay, but it is not a theme statement. What does the essay suggest the we notice (observe) or do (recommended) about the deaths of our pets?
• Choose one other element from the essay (such as character, setting, or imagery) from the list of six elements in 6.2.
  • Think about how that one element relates to the one theme that you just identified and stated as an observation or recommendation.
• Write one paragraph in which you examine how your one chosen element relates to the theme.
  • Address the questions: Does the element I chose support the theme or contrast the theme? In what ways?
• Post your paragraph as a “reply” to the discussion board
• Read and Reply to the postings of two of your peers.
  • Closely examine which literary element they chose to support or conflict with one theme and how they relate that element to one of the themes.
  • Analyze how each peer expresses the theme in words.
    • Do you agree with his/her theme statement?
    • Is it accurately stated as an observation about human nature (not just about the characters)?
    • Or (also acceptable), is it accurately stated as a lesson learned (by one or more characters) that could apply as a recommendation for readers?

6.4 Post – Literary Essay: Alice Walker

The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to a sub-genre of non-fiction called the literary essay by reading Alice Walker’s literary essay, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” and watching the trailer of Beauty in Truth, a film based on Walker’s life.

Directions

• Read the following story by Alice Walker
• Read the following quotation from literary critic Harold Bloom to help you understand the purpose of Walker’s essay:
  • In her autobiographical essay, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens,” Alice Walker looks at the tremendous burden black women have had to carry from a historical perspective and analyzes the overwhelming odds they have had to overcome to express their creativity. All too often women’s accomplishments have been viewed as inferior since, traditionally, they have been judged according to male standards. Walker, however, acknowledges the great contributions women have made to our culture and traces the power of women through her own matriarchal lineage.
• Watch the following trailer of – a film based on Walker’s life:
  • Beauty in Truth (Links to an external site.)
  • You’ll find “The Trailer” on the right side of your screen (scroll down slightly).
• Write a paragraph discussing how the combination of reading the literary essay and learning about Walker through the Beauty in Truth trailer helped you gain perspective on Walker as an author, a champion for women, a proponent of civil rights, and an artist.
• Post your paragraph as a “reply” to the discussion.

6.5 Post – Elements of an Essay

The purpose of this assignment is to teach you to identify four literary elements of the literary essay. You will use this knowledge in an essay you will write in Exam 2. You will learn to recognize and write about four elements of a literary essay: Voice, Style, Structure, and Ideas.

Directions

• Read the definitions of the four non-fiction elements listed here:
  • Voice: When we read a literary essay, we usually hear the narrator’s voice; we hear a person speaking to us, and we begin to notice if he or she sounds friendly or hostile, stuffy or casual, self-assured or tentative. The voice may be intimate or remote. It may be sincere or ironic. The possibilities are as endless as the number of essayists. A writer’s persona is the personality he/she assumes through his/her voice to serve the purpose of the essay.
  • Style: Writers have unique styles; the same way stylish people we know have a personal style. Writers make specific choices in words (diction), syntax, sentence length, metaphors, repetition and many other ways to manipulate language and create a unique sound in their writing.
  • Structure: Literary essayists are not inclined to follow any formulaic structure, as is taught to a first-year college student (i.e., first a topic sentence and then three examples). Instead, they invent or combine structures that fit their own way of seeing the world. Walker’s structure includes sprinkles of personal experience within this persuasive essay to call for changes in the attitude of her reader.
    • Please review this linked PowerPoint presentation on structure:
      • Structure in Literary Essays.ppt
  • Ideas: Literary essays often express ideas more directly than fictional stories. They attempt to persuade the reader to look at the world through a new perspective. Readers of essays are in one sense miners, unearthing hidden meanings. In another sense, they are like co-producers in creating meaning.
• Find quotations from Walker’s essay that represent each of the four elements above. Write 4-6 sentences for each element, explaining why you chose each quotation.
  • Voice: How does your chosen quotation represent Walker’s persona in this essay?
  • Style: How does your chosen quotation represent aspects of Walker’s unique style?
  • Structure: How does your chosen quotation represent Walker’s persuasive structure?
  • Ideas: How does your chosen quotation uncover the meanings of the essay?
• Post your quotations and explanations as a “reply” to the discussion.

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