Last Reading Response: Spiegelman's Maus

Due by class time on Tuesday, November 27.

For this response, I'd like for you to think about the form Spiegelman uses to tell this story, particularly about the use of images. Think first about how you are affected by this reading experience. How do you read differently than you would a book with just words? Next, choose one passage from the novel to illustrate what the graphic novel form adds to (or takes away from) the telling of the story. How does the imagery affect your interpretation of the events (and particularly of the passage you chose)? Ultimately, why tell this particular story through both words and pictures? What do you think about Spiegelman's choice to tell his father's story this way?

Bonus Response: Biguenet's "The Torturer's Apprentice"

Due by the last day of class, Thursday, December 6

Use the tools of analysis we've been working on all semester to interpret this story: read it and write a response in which you tell me what you think the story could mean. No need to post a comment -- we won't discuss the story in class -- just bring a hard copy with you to class some time by the last regular class meeting.

Response Opportunity #10: Hawthorne or Biguenet

Due by class time on Thursday, November 15

Three choices:

• Option 1: Choose one of the analytical lenses I've talked about in class -- psychological, feminist, social/political, or genre theory -- and interpret one of these stories through that lens.
• Option 2: Analyze Hawthorne's "The Birth Mark" by comparing it to Never Let Me Go. How are the two messages about scientific advancement similar? How are they different? What's your personal position in this debate about scientific progress?
• Option 3: Open response -- choose either story and interpret it according to what interests you.
  

Ishiguro: Response Opportunity #9

Due by class time on Tuesday, November 13.

For your response to Never Let Me Go, I'm interested in what you think about any one of the issues the novel addresses. I'd like to hear what you think the novel is saying about that issue, how Ishiguro goes about saying it, and your personal response to what he's saying. Make sure you deal with the ending as you interpret how the novel deals with the issue you choose, and make sure you tell us what you think.