Rhetoric and Composition, Monday, February 28th & Wednesday. March 2nd

For Wednesday's class, be sure to read all given materials. Also, be sure you have spent time with the issues outlined on previous posts of the blog (Pakistan and Egypt). 

WRITE: Formal Essay #3:

Synthesis of the Reluctant Fundamentalist

This paper will be at least three pages long. Please do not just stop cold when you hit three pages, I have witnessed with this class a tendency to rush to an ending after you hit the required length.

Each family will work on the same topic (five possible topics in all). I am assigning it this way so that you may use your families for guidance and help. Topics will be assigned during class today. You will be given the last few minutes of class to brainstorm and discuss your topic with your family before heading off to write. Also, each family should be able to provide some interesting oral insights for each topic when we discuss them.

Use outside resources (consider looking at those that have been posted to the blog) to assist you in crafting your answer. Check out websites. Do a Google search. Read the interviews. Listen to the audio and podcasts. Attribute and cite these resources. Integration, relevance and attribution of sources will be graded. Use Hacker to guide your creation of an APA or MLA works cited page (Don't worry about perfection in this area, yet, we will go over this next month).

The Five Topics:

1. What happens at the end of the novel? Who is the American? Does he kill Changez? Does Changez kill him? Why does Hamid write the novel this way? How does the ending fit the overall theme and purpose of the novel? Consider this: Hamid once commented on NPR that the novel's structure serves to highlight the "conversation between the US and the Muslim world."

2. "The Reluctant Fundementalist" is a strange title, considering that Changez is not all that religous. Hamid once commented that the title is meant to have a dual meaning: Changez as a religous fundamentalist (terrorist?), but "MORE IMPORTANTLY" the fundamentals taught to him by Jim and Underwood Samson. Describe what the title means to you. Reference to novel to support your answer, and be sure to discuss the "double-meaning."

3. Nostalgia. Home. Memory. These emotions play a strong role in the novel. Erica exists as a symbol of the power of yearing for something in the past. Write a paper describing Erica as a symbol for nostalgia. How does her longing for Chris symbolize the change in Changez? Further, how does Erica and Changez's relationship foreshadow the decisions Changez will ultimately make?

4. Write a paper justifying Erica as a symbol for America. How does Erica's rise and fall parallel the rise and fall of America in Changez's heart and life? Describe his relationship with Erica as an allegory for his relationship with the United States.

5. Chapter 5 is certainly the turning point of the novel. It is the first impression of the changes awaiting Changez. Discuss your reaction to his infamous "smile." Should we as American readers be willing to accept this reaction from Changez? If so, why? Or, is his action unforgivable in given the gravity and scope of the tragedy? Either way, justify your answer.

To do well on this...keep Costal's Keys in mind. Focus on really providing great support for your point of view. Make sure you provide specific evidence directly from the novel with thorough analysis of "why" a specific textual reference supports your point of view. Do the same with third party evidence is applicable. Research is encouraged, but not mandatory; however, you cannot write this paper without direct reference to the novel. Paper should include at least two direct quotation. 

Watch for mechanics! I will be unforgiving on sentence structure. Support your family!

Due Monday