NOTE:   If you experience any problems printing out this project sheet, pick up a hard copy from the box outside my office. 

PROJECT #3

DUE:  No later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 9.*
           (Drop your pocket folder in the ENGL 2100H box outside my office.)

   * But, for the sake of your own peace of mind, please aim for Dec. 6.

Your assignment is to compose a thoughtful, well-supported, clearly organized, rhetorically effective, and grammatically sound response to one of the eleven topics below. 

A FEW TIPS
Get an early start.   Review your class notes and the notes on our web site.   Read--and re-read--the texts you'll be working with.   Find specific details ("Show me") that support your main ideas ("So what?").   Get something on paper--no matter how sloppy and disorganized it may be at first.  If you can't come up with an introduction, don't wait for inspiration: jump into the middle.   Keep in mind that you're writing for someone who has already read the texts: don't summarize.  You're not required  to show me a draft--but why not take advantage of the free service?  You may drop a draft off at my office or send me one via e-mail: I'll make every effort to return my comments to you within 24 hours.   (Except for November 28 and 29, I'll be available during the Thanksgiving break.)  If you wish, you may also schedule an appointment to discuss your draft with me in person.  (As always, keep track of the NEWS and NOTES pages on this web site for additional advice regarding all assignments--including this course project and my availability for conferences.)  In any case, the last possible day I'll be available to review and comment on drafts is WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4.   After that, you should be editing and proofreading (and preparing for your final exams). 

RULES OF THE ROAD
Although I'm not requiring the use of outside or secondary sources for this project (with the exception of topic 8), I'm not forbidding them either.  Throughout the course I've encouraged you to take advantage of the online articles and reviews posted on our RESOURCES page.  You may also find some helpful ideas in the class NOTES and at CLASS PRODUCTIONS.  I've also encouraged you to read the reviews and critical articles in the "Contexts" section of DeLillo's White Noise.  If you incorporate ideas from any of these articles or reviews, you must, of course, cite them in your paper.  Indeed, you must cite any sources (textual or otherwise--and that includes the Internet and your mother) that you do rely on. 
You're more than welcome, to consult with me and with the tutors in the Writing Center for help in organizing your thoughts and revising your paper.  If you have any questions about what constitutes an "outside source," please check with me; any violation of this policy will be considered a violation of the AASU Honor Code.

REVISING & EDITING
As you revise your essay, be guided by the format sheet that has been posted to this course site and that was also handed out in class.  In addition, be sure to reserve plenty of time for careful editing: if your first and/or second project was marked down for errors of grammar, punctuation, or mechanics, your final project will be marked down even more severely if you repeat the same kinds of errors.  (In other words, the point is to show evidence that you've learned from your mistakes.)   The final version of your paper must be word processed and MUST INCLUDE A SELF-EVALUATION, as follows.  At the end of your project, respond briefly yet specifically to these three questions:

1. What part of your project do you think is most effective?

2. What part of your project (or which stage in its composition) gave you the most difficulty?

3. What is your overall evaluation of your work for this project? 
(NOTE: This last question does not ask you to assign a grade to your project.)

Projects submitted without a self-evaluation will be considered incomplete and will be graded accordingly.

SUBMITTING YOUR WORK
Submit your project in a pocket folder (make sure that your name is on the outside of the folder) : final version on top, with rough drafts and the graded copies of project #1 and project #2 below.  An essay submitted without any rough drafts will be treated as a draft and graded accordingly.   You may drop the folder off in the carton outside my office any time before 5:01 p.m. on Monday, December 9.

__________________TOPICS FOR PROJECT #3_________________

1.  MAJOR ROLES FOR MINOR CHARACTERS IN SULA

Although most readers would agree that the two central characters in Toni Morrison's Sula are Nel and Sula, the novel is certainly enriched and its themes reinforced by the presence of numerous secondary characters.   Select two or three of the "minor" characters in Sula (e.g., Shadrack, Chicken Little, the deweys, Ajax, Plum), and, in an essay of roughly 1,200 to 1,500 words, discuss how an understanding of these characters deepens our understanding of conflicts and themes dramatized throughout the novel. 

_____________________

2.  MOTHERS IN SULA

Critic Marianne Hirsch has argued that the basic relationship between mothers and daughters in 19th- and 20th-century literature is the daughter's attempt at "disidentification" with the mother and with the limitations of her traditional role.  An enormous generalization, of course, but give some thought to the extent to which Hirsch's view may apply--or fail to apply--to the mother-daughter relationships dramatized in Sula.  More specifically, in an essay of roughly 1,200 to 1,500 words, examine, compare, and contrast the characters of Helen Sabat, Eva, and Hannah Peace (or any two of these characters) and their relationships with their children (and grandchildren).  Consider (among other things) how an understanding of these women may contribute (at least in part) to our understanding of Nel and Sula and to some of the major themes of the novel. 
_____________________

3.  METAPHORS IN SULA

In a New Republic interview with Thomas LeClair (21 March 1981, 25-29), Toni Morrison refers to "times in my writing when I cannot move ahead even though I know exactly what will happen in the plot and what the dialogues is because I don't have the scene, the metaphor to begin with."  Morrison's language in Sula is so highly figurative that at least one critic has suggested that the novel should be approached as if it were a poem.  Identify and examine several metaphors from different sections of the novel, and discuss whether each appears to be purely (or primarily) ornamental, or whether the metaphor is also illustrative of deeper or more extensive meanings in the text. 
[This topic calls for a rhetorical analysis--a kind of reading that, unfortunately, we haven't had a lot of time for this term.  However, if you enjoy the play of language and wish to attempt this topic, go for it--but please don't hesitate to let me give you a hand.  Extensive resources on metaphors and on rhetorical analysis in general appear at another on another of my course sites: http://www.nt.armstrong.edu/rhetoric.htm.]
___________________________

4.  ETHNIC FABLES?

White critics in America have a habit of viewing "other" literatures (e.g., Native American, African-American, post-colonial, et al.) as distinctively "ethnic"--reflecting the culture, values, and conflicts of particular communities--while somehow overlooking or accepting as "standard" the distinctive ethnic qualities that may be embodied in works by and about middle-class white Americans.  In an essay of roughly 1,200 to 1,500 words, challenge this conventional approach by examining the folk- and/or fable-like qualities inherent in both Sula and White Noise, demonstrating along the way how each attempts (in different ways) to re-create the experiences of a distinctive ethnic community.
_______________________

5.  CHILDREN IN WHITE NOISE

In an essay of roughly 1,200 to 1,500 words, examine, compare, and contrast the characterizations of any two of the children (Heinrich, Bee, Denise, Steffie, and Wilder) in DeLillo's White Noise.  In particular, consider how the portrayals of these unusual children help us to understand the characters of Jack and Babette, the conflicts they experience, and one or more of the major themes of the novel.
________________________

6.  MAJOR ROLES FOR MINOR CHARACTERS IN White Noise

Orest Mercator, Murray Jay Suskind, Vernon Dickey, Winnie Richards, Willie Mink, Howard Dunlop--DeLillo's White Noise has its fair share of memorable and fairly eccentric secondary characters.  Select two or three of these "minor" characters, and, in an essay of roughly 1,200 to 1,500 words, discuss how an understanding of these characters deepens our understanding of conflicts and themes dramatized throughout the novel. 
________________________

7. A White Noise TOPIC OF YOUR OWN

On pages 517-522 of our text, you'll find numerous questions that may intrigue and challenge you.  Study these questions, combine two or three of them, tie them into concerns and interests that you have--and then create a topic of your own about White Noise, a topic that you'll wrestle with in an essay of roughly 1,200 to 1,500 words.   The usual conditions apply, however:  (1) you must propose your topic to me via e-mail no later than Monday, November 25, and (2) I then have to approve your topic and (if necessary) set some guidelines of my own.
_____________________

8. THE POLITICS OF Disgrace

This topic will call for some basic research, but it may be of interest to those of you who are majoring in political science.  A full understanding of Disgrace depends on having some basic knowledge and understanding of the social history of--and political conditions in--South Africa over the past century, up to the present time of the novel.  Being careful to relate all of your factual research to particular characters, places, events, and social conditions dramatized in the novel, demonstrate (in an essay of roughly 1,200 to 1,500 words) how an understanding of South African history and politics deepens our understanding of Coetzee's novel.
_____________________

9. ANIMALS IN Disgrace

In Coetzee's novel, the relationship of humans to animals--their treatment and mistreatment--appears to be a major concern.  In an essay of roughly 1.200 to 1,500 words, discuss the role of animals throughout the novel, and consider how their treatment and mistreatment help to reveal not only the conflicts experienced by David Lurie but also some of the major themes of Disgrace. 
[If you choose this topic, you may find it helpful to borrow (and read) my copy of Coetzee's The Lives of Animals -- a fairly short fictional lecture that examines issues of animal rights.]
______________________

10. WOMEN AND DAVID LURIE

At one point in Disgrace, David Lurie characterizes himself as "a womanizer"--and clearly his attitudes toward women appear to be in need of some adjustment.  Examine, compare, and contrast the characterizations of two or three  of the following characters--Soraya, Melanie Isaacs, daughter Lucy, Bev Shaw, ex-wife Rosalind--and David Lurie's attitude toward (and treatment of) these women.  In particular, consider how the portrayals of these women (and David's perceptions of them) help to deepend our understanding of Lurie's character and the major theme(s) of the novel.
_____________________
11.  A TOPIC OF YOUR OWN

You may fashion a topic of your own for this project--a topic that focuses on particular elements of--or characters in--any one of the major works considered over the past few weeks: Sula, White Noise, Disgrace.   The primary conditions are that (1) you must propose your topic to me via e-mail no later than Monday, November 25, and (2) I then have to approve your topic and (if necessary) set some guidelines of my own.   If I don't hear from you by November 25, you'll be writing on one of the assigned topics above. 

return to PROJECTS

English 2100H is taught by Dr. Richard Nordquist.
Armstrong Atlantic State University
University Hall 297D
11935 Abercorn Street
Savannah, Georgia 31419
912-921-5991
e-mail: nordqudi@mail.armstrong.edu

 
27 November 2002

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