Tuesday, November 16

We are now moving on to our last novel of the semester (yeah!): I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Conde, a Caribbean writer!

Click here for a great link on the basics behind our last author, Maryse Conde!

Click here for a video link to our novel!

Click here for a review of the novel!

Tuesday, November 2

So how are you folks liking the Iranian Women Without Men? Is it a hard text to follow? Here is a basic plot line to help you: Novelist Parsipur here synthesizes the voices of five women in contemporary Iran: a prostitute, two unmarried women, a housewife, and a teacher. They all face serious oppression largely because of gender discrimination, cultural traditions, and notions of virginity and women's sexuality. They also seek and find freedom and some solace in the same garden. This garden, located in Karaj, near Tehran, becomes their utopia.

Here is a great link to a bunch of information about the novel: Click Here!

If you would like to see the trailer for the film, click here!

See you all in class on Tuesday!

Tuesday, October 26

In class on Tuesday, I will give you folks information about the final -- we are not doing a traditional essay or test but, instead, you will be creating a Facebook page for one of the fictional characters we have encountered in this class. No fears -- I will be giving you a handout outlining what you will need to do for this assignment!

We are going to also spend time talking about some of the "big" questions about White Tiger, now that you have finished the novel:

** The author chose to tell the story from the provocative point of view of an exceedingly charming, egotistical admitted murderer. Do Balram's ambition and charisma make his vision clearer? More vivid? Did he win you over?

** Balram variously describes himself as "a man of action and change," "a thinking man," "an entrepreneur," "a man who sees tomorrow," and a "murderer." Is any one of these labels the most fitting, or is he too complex for only one? How would you describe him?

** Balram blames the culture of servitude in India for the stark contrasts between the Light and the Darkness and the antiquated mind set that slows change. Discuss his rooster coop analogy and the role of religion, the political system, and family life in perpetuating this culture. What do you make of the couplet Balram repeats to himself: "I was looking for the key for years / but the door was always open"?

** The novel reveals an India that is as unforgiving as it is promising. Do you think of the novel, ultimately, as a cautionary tale or a hopeful one?

See you folks in class on Tuesday! Cheers, Dianna!

For Class on Tuesday, October 19

In case you folks hadn't noticed, there is a Wikipedia entry for this novel -- or maybe I put it in a previous entry? (Sorry -- can't remember!) Anyway, click here if you would like to take a look at it!

Click here for the author's own personal web site!

Balram Halwai, the main protagonist, is writing to Mr. Jiabao, China’s Prime Minister, but in reality, I am Mr. Jiabao, you are, we all are. Balram is telling us how India is now ready for companies from China to come and invest there, because newly set up entrepreneurs have cleared the way for them. People like himself, in fact! And we’re going to to see what it takes for India to become a land of opportunity and success stories to unfold. For those who know what violence is simmering under the silk chunnis and colourful saris, his portrayal of contemporary India will not come as a surprise, but others will shudder. (if you would like to read more of the review I "borrowed" these words from, click here!)

Tuesday, Oct 12

Keep reading White Tiger and don't forget that we have a mid-term during Thursday's class! Part of the mid-term will be a passage identification and the second portion will be some essay questions. So make sure to bring your copies of the novels to class with you on Thursday! We will review what the mid-term will be like in today's class. Be sure to let me know if you have any questions about anything, OK?!

Some Comments on Reading ...

I know that we we get to the middle of the semester, it can sometimes be difficult to keep up the motivation in any class, including a literature course. To help a little, here are some words from Ben Ehrenriech, a novelist, on why he reads:

"There's a book I don't remember well, though I can remember precisely where I found it in my elementary school library -- three yards to the right of the door, in the middle of the third shelf from the floor.

I was, and remain, a compulsive reader. Back then, I read on the school bus, at the bus stop in the cold, at the dinner table, beneath the sheets and for hours sometimes in the only room with a door that locked, the bathroom, despite my sister's pounding. This book was about a solitary little boy who, as I did, had a nervous habit of tapping everything he touched, and counting the combinations of taps. One day, he tapped a wall of stone. A door appeared. Behind it was a different world, not better really, but brighter and less dull. I read for the same reason that he tapped: to look for doors, to push through walls."

I would encourage you to do the same -- "Push through walls." It will, I suspect, mae you a more well-rounded individual!

Good luck as you continue reading The White Tiger -- up to page 145 for Tuesday!

White Tiger!

For Tuesday's class, you need to have read the first 36 pages of Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger (and Indian novel).

As you will soon discover, The White Tiger is presented as an epistolary novel, a series of letters written over the period of seven nights. I will be curious to know what you think about this narrator named Balram. Do you like him? Do you hate him? Something between the two?

As you will figure out right away, the person Balram is writing to is the premier of China, Wen Jiabao, due to visit the city Balram is living in -- Bangalore, India -- in a week's time. What, one wonders, could possess an Indian entrepreneur living in Bangalore to write at such length to the premier of China?

What do you think?? Happy reading and see you on Tuesday!

Almost Done with CHRONICLE!

Well -- everyone should be finished with Chronicle of a Death Foretold at this point! We will have our last class meeting on this novel on Tuesday! We will take one last quiz on this novel (it's comprehensive!) and then we will do an activity that will involve questions that cover the entire novel.

If you haven't already, make sure you get your hands on a copy of Aravind Adiga's White Tiger. This Indian novel will be our next "read." Don't forget that if you are short on cash, we have a copy of the novel on reserve in the library. Click here for the Wikipedia entry for the novel -- I will be curious to see what connections you can make back to Kehinde and to Chronicle of a Death Foretold! Happy reading!

Tuesday, Sept 21

So how is the reading going for Chronicle of a Death Foretold?? We will be having out first oral presentation on Thursday (Aaron, William, and Andrew L) so I want to "save" as much as the text as possible for those folks to be able to cover in their presentation.

When you come to class on Tuesday, we will start with a quiz on the reading selection due tomorrow and then we will spend the bulk of the class watching a documentary on Gabriel Garcia Marquez (interviews with this author are pretty rare, by the way!). See you in class!

Tuesday's Class

First, I will make sure and hand out the oral presentation dates in class on Tuesday. We will quickly review what each group will need to do in order to prepare for their presentation slot.

Second -- you are offically done with one novel! Only five more to go! We will take a quick "break" for Tuesday's class in order to talk about Kehinde as a whole and to watch an American version of polygamy. Is the American version anything like what we saw with Kehinde's family?

We will be starting Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, for Thursday's class. Click here for some basic information on this South American writer.

See you in class on Tuesday!

Thursday, September 2

I appreciate the great discussion we had in class on Tuesday! So let's see what you folks can come up with for Thursday's discussion!

Click here for another great web site that talks about Emecheta in general.

Class for Tuesday, August 31

So is the beginning of Kehinde going?! I know chapter two can be kind of rough, especially when the characters Kehinde and Moriammo, start talking in their native toungue which is a mix of Igbo and English. But I think you can figure out the context, even if you can't figure out every single word (and don't forget that some of the Igbo words are defined in a glossary in the back of the book).

Click here for basic information about Emecheta and her work!

Don't forget that on Tuesday I would like to start class by talking about the mosque situation in NYC. Since this is an event happening right now (and some might argue ethnocentrism plays a crucial role), why don't we talk about it a little before jumping into Kehinde? The links to the articles are on the right side of this page!

See you in class! :D

Welcome to Fall 2010!

Hey everyone! Welcome to our LIT 205: Non-Western Literature Class! This blog will help to keep you up to date with what is happening in our Tuesday/ Thursday class! Make sure that you buy Buchi Emecheta's Kehinde as soon as possible as that will be he first novel that we read! Also -- do you see the links to the right of this blog entry? The ones about the controversy over the building of a mosque at Ground Zero? Try to read those before class next week!