Short Writing 1
Summarize the events of "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" (H 118). Why do
you think this particular narrative has such wide-spread appeal? What
does it say about border culture?
Short Writing 2
Rudolfo Anaya's Antonio is a border character in many ways, caught
between two opposing forces. Make a list and briefly explain the
various oppositions that characterize Antonio's experience in the
novel.
Short Writing 3
Spend some time looking up on the Internet some information
about the
background, history, significance, and influence of one of the
following women. Briefly summarize (in about one page) what you find.
Although you are grouped for the assignment, you need to complete it
individually.
Group 1: La
Malinche (Malintzín Tenepal, Doña Marina)
Group 2: La
Virgen de Guadalupe
Group 4: La
Llorona
Group 5: Coatlicue
Short Writing 4
Choose one symbol from
The House on
Mango Street and trace it through
three chapters
of the novel. Use specific examples and explain what the symbol means
in each chapter. Does the meaning build consistently? Or does the
meaning change or even contradict itself from chapter to chapter?
Either way, what is its significance in temr of one/some of the larger
themes of the novel?
Short Writing 5
The readings for this week explore the interconnections among language,
race, ethnicity, and nation. Choose one of these markers of identity
(language, race, ethnicity, and nation) and, using TWO of the readings
for this week, analyze the connections that the writers make between
their own identity that that marker.
Short Writing 6
Compare and contrast Urrea's and Anzaldúa's
characterization of
the border in "Across the Wire" and "The Homeland Aztlán,"
respectively.
Short Writing 7
I, Rigoberta Menchú
brings together autobiography and history, politics and literature.
What is the relationship between autobiography and history? What is the
relationship between politics and literature? How does Menchú
bring them together? Use examples from the text.
Short Writing 8
The narrator of
Mother Tongue
uses a variety of "sources" in reconstructing her memories of her
relationship with José Luis and her work with the Sanctuary
movement. Make a list of those sources and how they work within the
novel. What is the effect of various genres within the novel? Various
voices? What is the connection between the sources and memory?
Short Writing 9
Using the "Testimonial Dictionary," choose one or two concepts and
apply them to Demetria Martínez's novel. Can it be read as a
testimonio?
Short Writing 10
Much of Piri Thomas's
Down These
Mean Streets describes his various identities, particularly as
they come into conflict. How does he discover the hierarchy of
identities that exists in the United States? What is the most important
dimension of his identity? Use specific examples from the text to
support your answer.
Short Writing 11
Compare and contrast the urban space of Thomas's
Down These Mean Streets to
Cisneros's
The House on Mango Street.
Short Writing 12
Describe the following in Alvarez's
In
the Time of the Butterflies: 1) her use of
point of view
and 2)
the way she has
structured this novel. Why does
she make these choices?
Short Writing 13
How is
Trujillo's reign characterized by language and silence? Choose either
language or silence and discuss its appearance in the novel.
NB: You also have a one-page
reflection paper due (accompanying your Voices from the Gaps project).
Short Writing 14
See your
Final
Exam study guide.