ENGL Literary Maps

ASSIGNMENTS 1 AND 2: LITERARY MAPS

In English 3991, your first two assignments are really just one, big assignment (i.e., the “Literary Maps”), but your work will be submitted in two parts. In other words, you are required to write individual maps (discussed in detail below) for each of the six books on the Course Reading List—so, six maps in total.

Plan on submitting your literary maps, then, not as a group of six, but in two groups of three.

So, put simply, in Assignment 1, you will submit the first three literary maps; the second set of three will be submitted as Assignment 2.

In English 3991, your first two assignments are really just one, big assignment (i.e., the “Literary Maps”), but your work will be submitted in two parts. In other words, you are required to write individual maps (discussed in detail below) for each of the six books on the Course Reading List—so, six maps in total.

Plan on submitting your literary maps, then, not as a group of six, but in two groups of three.

So, put simply, in Assignment 1, you will submit the first three literary maps; the second set of three will be submitted as Assignment 2.

 

ASSIGNMENT 1: LITERARY MAPS (20%)

Submission/Presentation:

1. Write individual literary maps for eachof your first three readings on the Course Reading List. (You, of course, can read the course texts in any order you wish, and thereby choose which books you would like to write on first.)
2. Each literary map should be no more than 500-600 words(approximately 2-3 type-written pages).
3. Literary maps do notrequire introductions or conclusions.
4. Literary maps should be double-spaced, and in MLA (or APA) format.

Detailed information about how to approach this assignment is included below

ASSIGNMENT 2: LITERARY MAPS (20%)

Submission/Presentation:

1. Write individual literary maps for eachof your final three readings on the Course Reading List. (As stated above, you can read the books in any order you wish, and your second assignment will, of course, be written on your final three readings in this course.)
2. Each literary map should be no more than 500–600 words(approx., 2–3 typewritten pages).
3. Literary maps do notrequire introductions or conclusions.
4. Literary maps should be double-spaced, and in MLA (or APA) format.

Detailed information about how to approach this assignment is included below.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ASSIGNMENTS 1 AND 2

As you know, we view works of literature in this course not as objects to simply be analyzed, explained, or paraphrased, but as incendiary or provocative forms of cultural and political action. In other words, the writers on the Course Reading List use their work to confront various sites of conflict and crisis in society (e.g., abuse, racism, social injustice, environmental destruction, apathy and indifference, normality, the status quo, etc.). They stir controversy, and expose societal wrongs. They pose challenges. They ask difficult questions—and the questions they ask are specifically designed to involve, even implicate, their readers, by getting them to think about themselves, their lives, their ways of being in the world, and the world in which they live.

For Assignment 1 and Assignment 2, your goal is to identify and unearth the voices of protest and rebellion in the books and stories on the Course Reading List. You will look for the anger and arguments in these works; you will identify their disputes, challenges, and provocations. You will look for what they have to say about contemporary society and the world in which we live, and then lay out all your findings in the literary maps.

Note: Do not be confused by the name of these assignments. You are not being asked to draw literal “maps” (as in the picture depicted above). Rather, the maps you will do for Assignments 1 and 2 will be written like separate journal entries. In other words, you are mapping the voices of protest and rebellion in the course readings.

But let us discuss the assignments in more detail.

How to Develop Your Literary Maps

I am fashioning a reader for these fictions . . . of what kind? Well, skilled and generous with attention, for one thing, patient . . . avid for details.

—William Gass

The literary maps in this course have a targeted focus—i.e., to give voice to the expressions of literary protest in the six books on the Course Reading List.

Instead of the first two assignments being an open-ended exercise, where students are asked to write a series of random, personal impressions about these books, the literary maps serve one essential function: to map the voices of protest and rebellion within these works of literature. To that end, you will need, as William Gass says, to be “generous with attention . . . patient . . . avid for details.”

What follows, then, is a series of questions designed to help you develop your literary maps. In the end, you will be evaluated on the details you provide—details, both interesting and useful (more on this below), which again point directly to the voices of protest and rebellion in the course readings.

Your literary maps should ask and answer questions like the following:

1. What does the book have to say about contemporary society (or contemporary America)? What sort of commentary does it make?
2. Does the work point to an imminent (or coming) threat? If so, is that threat known or unknown? Is it something we should fear or worry about? Is there an urgency to the author’s message?
3. What is the level of anger in the work? Or, if not anger, what is the level of stress? Tension? Hate? Anguish? Despair?
4. Does the work seem to want to “shame” someone? If so, who? In other words, who is the real target of the work? Who or what is the true source of the problem? Sometimes it might be a person or institution, other times it might be certain values or beliefs, a certain tradition or societal practice, a dark (or denied) history, etc. Why are these people/things targets for these authors? On this question, recall author John Steinbeck’s comment about wanting to write The Grapes of Wrathin order “to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this.” For this question, you will want to point to the “greedy bastards” (whoever they may be) that the work identifies as the real driver of injustice in contemporary America.
5. What is/are the specific site(s) of conflict or tension depicted in the work (e.g., home, environment, media, etc.)? Why do you think the problem has arisen in that place (or in those places)?
6. What is the basic crisis or controversy to which the work points? (Rather than just saying, in a very general way, “discrimination” or “racism,” ask yourself if there might be something even more elemental that these works target—e.g., fear, confusion, self-perception, historical injustice, etc. Be specific.)
7. Who are the victims in the work? That is, who is hurt by the actions of others, and why? What exactly do those victims have to endure?
8. What is the work really saying about the way we treat ourselves, or the way we treat one another?
9. Does the work have a rebelliousnature? In other words, is there something in or about the story (e.g., a certain event depicted in the story, a character, the style of writing, etc.)—something that defies or rebels against normality, social convention, or the “status quo”?
10. What specific challenges does the work pose, either for us, as individuals, or for society as a whole?

Note: You are not being asked to systematically address each and every question posed above. These questions are offered only to provoke thought, and to suggest things you might write about in the first two assignments in this course.

In the end, don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by these assignments. Again, you are not required to ask and answer every question above. Instead, let the questions help you; let them guide your thinking about these books. Use them to focus your reading, and ultimately give order and organization to your literary maps. You may wish to develop questions of your own, or perhaps alter a question or two posed above to better suit your own particular experience of a given book or story. Feel free to do so.

A Few Additional Suggestions for Writing the Literary Maps

Always make your literary maps specific and detailed. Give examples. Where possible, point to interesting images and ideas in the works themselves to better defend or support your claims.

Offer useful and interesting quotes from the text, wherever you can. However, it is imperative that you avoid unnecessarily long quotes or extended interpretations of select passages. For each literary map, you only have 2–3 pages to play with (approx.. 500–600 words), so try to be concise. Use your space wisely. Maps should be packed with interesting details gleaned from the work, not padded with needlessly long and unproductive descriptions of things you have read about.

Avoid plot summaries and/or detailed analyses of certain characters or scenes. Of course, you will likely want to point to certain characters in your maps, or briefly discuss given scenes. But, in general, get to the point. Get in and get out!

As stated in the submission instructions (outlined above), avoid introductions and conclusions/summaries. They, too, just take up space, and you do not have much space to work with, so jump right in!

In all, your literary maps should be formally written and presented in full sentences, in MLA or APA format. But to effectively map the voices of protest and rebellion in the course readings within the allotted space, you will need to be both concise and pointed in your commentaries; in other words, rambling, unfocused literary maps full of extended personal opinions and vague, general impressions about the course readings will not suffice.

Note: Check out the “Tips for Writing a Literary Map” document for additional information that may assist you with developing your literary maps.

Figure 2: At its headquarters, 69 Fifth Avenue, New York City, the NAACP flew a flag to report lynchings, until, in 1938, the threat of losing its lease forced the association to discontinue the practice. Credit: Flag, announcing lynching, flown from the window of the NAACP headquarters on 69 Fifth Ave., New York City. 1939. Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/pictures/item/95517117/.

ASSIGNMENT MARKING CRITERIA

Marking is based on the following 10-point scale:

1–4.5 — Not done/inadequate

5–5.5 — Attempted, but not satisfactory

6–6.5 — Satisfactory, but significant gaps

7–7.5 — Good, solid engagement

8–10 — Excellent analytical work

Criteria:

1. The literary map develops a cohesive and logical discussion with a strong thesis. A reasonable scope has been taken in focusing the topic.
2. Answers demonstrate a critical understanding of the text’s arguments and the issues/target underlying its critique and/or mobilization for protest.
3. Answers analyze how the text represents the threat or problem, and how the voice of protest is expressed in the literary form. Answers go beyond the level of summary and paraphrase to examine how the text works to mobilize critique and protest.
4. Answers examine the construction of the reader in the text, considering how the reader is engaged and implicated in the underlying critique and voice of protest.
5. The essay is well-written, with effective structure and minimal grammatical errors.

LOOKING AHEAD TO ASSIGNMENTS 3, 4, AND 5

As stated in the Course Introduction, the work you do in Assignments 1 and 2 will become the foundation for your three final assignments in this course, and thus the final 60% of your overall grade.

Take the time now to read over the requirements for your later assignments on the personal, political, and creative uses of literary texts (referred to in Part 2).

But, put simply, your Part 2 assignments will require you to expand or build upon the information you were able to glean from your course readings, and write about in your literary maps. Your final assignments (i.e., Assignments 3, 4, and 5) will involve, for example,

• Confronting or taking up the challenges posed by these writers and their works, but in unique and personal ways.
• Exploring and developing your ownvoice on the issues of protest and rebellion, first discussed in the course readings.
• Contributing to the wider discussions these authors bring into focus.
• Extending those discussions beyond the books, themselves, and into your own life, and into the world around you.
• Creatively experimenting with these books and stories—again, in ways unique to you.

Therefore, your approach to the final assignments in this class will largely be “pragmatic” in nature—i.e., oriented more toward questions of use and application of the course works, rather than any sort of neutral, arm’s length observation, consistent with the work of traditional English classrooms.

In effect, all your assignments in this course (from 1 to 5) are interrelated. What you do here—i.e., in the literary maps for Part 1—will have direct consequences on what you are able to do later in this class. Keep that in mind, then, as you begin to develop your course work.