AGENDA:
Mudbound Test: You may use your books. Write a decent essay question citing examples or text!
WORK ON SHORT STORIES. DRAFTS DUE AT THE END OF CLASS.
Maintain a QUIET CLASSROOM WRITING LAB and work on your stories for your 5 points today.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Mudbound/Short stories
AGENDA: Keep the blog open but minimized at all times during the class period so that you can check your progress on the lesson.
1. Morning Reflection: Grace
2. MUDBOUND discussion. TEST ON FRIDAY!
EQ: What is the significance of the title of Mudbound? How does an author convey his or her perspective through titling a work?
Make sure you have posted a comment for questions 1, 2, and 3. Several of you have not.
Today, post your thoughts about questions 8, 9, and 10.
We will discuss questions 4-7 in class today. First discuss in small groups and then report out to the class.
Be sure to support your CLAIMS with EVIDENCE from the text. Take notes! Use your hard copies of the questions from Monday.
3. SHORT STORIES: Work on your story. Maintain appropriate quiet time in the classroom while writing.
4. EXIT TICKET: Self-monitor your work during the class. Everyone starts at 3.
Add a point for class participation in the discussion.
Add a point for working on your short story and maintaining the quiet writing classroom.
Your goal is a 5 for the day!
1. Morning Reflection: Grace
2. MUDBOUND discussion. TEST ON FRIDAY!
EQ: What is the significance of the title of Mudbound? How does an author convey his or her perspective through titling a work?
Make sure you have posted a comment for questions 1, 2, and 3. Several of you have not.
Today, post your thoughts about questions 8, 9, and 10.
We will discuss questions 4-7 in class today. First discuss in small groups and then report out to the class.
Be sure to support your CLAIMS with EVIDENCE from the text. Take notes! Use your hard copies of the questions from Monday.
Question 4:
Brown, Frances A
Collazo, Taina
Driscoll-brantley, Gena
Ehmann, Nicole
Gresko, Ethan J
Question 5:
Gunner, Imani
Haynesworth, Thiery
Hymon, Branden A
Inthavong, Khamphasong
Landers, Grace
Question 6:
Mclamore, Imani C
Miranda, Damarys
Monroe, Alexis
Pembrook, Nathan
Proctor, Diamond A
Question 7:
Rattray, Jahni
Stanley, Shayozinique
Swift-Horth, Carly F
Torrance, Vanessa
Zeluff, Kayli 3. SHORT STORIES: Work on your story. Maintain appropriate quiet time in the classroom while writing.
4. EXIT TICKET: Self-monitor your work during the class. Everyone starts at 3.
Add a point for class participation in the discussion.
Add a point for working on your short story and maintaining the quiet writing classroom.
Your goal is a 5 for the day!
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Discussion questions for Mudbound/SHORT STORIES
AGENDA:
Morning Reflection: Grace. Please wait until Wednesday when I am there.
For Wednesday, you should have read all of Mudbound for class discussion (catch up if you're behind).
In the meantime, use PERIOD 1 to answer Questions 1, 2, and 3 on the blog. Support your comments with evidence from the test.
PERIOD 2: Work on short stories. First draft due Friday!
Discussion Questions
http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/643-mudbound-jordan
1. The setting of the Mississippi Delta is intrinsic to Mudbound. Discuss the ways in which the land functions as a character in the novel and how each of the other characters relates to it.
2. Mudbound is a chorus, told in six different voices. How do the changes in perspective affect your understanding of the story? Are all six voices equally sympathetic? Reliable? Pappy is the only main character who has no narrative voice. Why do you think the author chose not to let him speak?
3. Who gets to speak and who is silent or silenced is a central theme, the silencing of Ronsel being the most literal and brutal example. Discuss the ways in which this theme plays out for the other characters. For instance, how does Laura's silence about her unhappiness on the farm affect her and her marriage? What are the consequences of Jamie's inability to speak to his family about the horrors he experienced in the war? How does speaking or not speaking confer power or take it away?
4. The story is narrated by two farmers, two wives and mothers, and two soldiers. Compare and contrast the ways in which these parallel characters, black and white, view and experience the world.
5. What is the significance of the title? In what ways are each of the characters bound—by the land, by circumstance, by tradition, by the law, by their own limitations? How much of this binding is inescapable and how much is self-imposed? Which characters are most successful in freeing themselves from what binds them?
6. All the characters are products of their time and place, and instances of racism in the book run from Pappy’s outright bigotry to Laura’s more subtle prejudice. Would Laura have thought of herself as racist, and if not, why not? How do the racial views of Laura, Jamie, Henry, and Pappy affect your sympathy for them?
7. The novel deals with many thorny issues: racism, sexual politics, infidelity, war. The characters weigh in on these issues, but what about the author? Does she have a discernable perspective, and if so, how does she convey it?
8. We know very early in the book that something terrible is going to befall Ronsel. How does this sense of inevitability affect the story? Jamie makes Ronsel responsible for his own fate, saying "Maybe that's cowardly of me, making Ronsel's the trigger finger." Is it just cowardice, or is there some truth to what Jamie says? Where would you place the turning point for Ronsel? Who else is complicit in what happens to him, and why?
9. In reflecting on some of the more difficult moral choices made by the characters—Laura's decision to sleep with Jamie, Ronsel's decision to abandon Resl and return to America, Jamie's choice during the lynching scene, Florence's and Jamie's separate decisions to murder Pappy—what would you have done in those same situations? Is it even possible to know? Are there some moral positions that are absolute, or should we take into account things like time and place when making judgments?
10. How is the last chapter of Mudbound different from all the others? Why do you think the author chose to have Ronsel address you, the reader, directly? Do you believe he overcomes the formidable obstacles facing him and finds "something like happiness"? If so, why doesn't the author just say so explicitly? Would a less ambiguous ending have been more or less satisfying?
Morning Reflection: Grace. Please wait until Wednesday when I am there.
For Wednesday, you should have read all of Mudbound for class discussion (catch up if you're behind).
In the meantime, use PERIOD 1 to answer Questions 1, 2, and 3 on the blog. Support your comments with evidence from the test.
PERIOD 2: Work on short stories. First draft due Friday!
Discussion Questions
http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/643-mudbound-jordan
1. The setting of the Mississippi Delta is intrinsic to Mudbound. Discuss the ways in which the land functions as a character in the novel and how each of the other characters relates to it.
2. Mudbound is a chorus, told in six different voices. How do the changes in perspective affect your understanding of the story? Are all six voices equally sympathetic? Reliable? Pappy is the only main character who has no narrative voice. Why do you think the author chose not to let him speak?
3. Who gets to speak and who is silent or silenced is a central theme, the silencing of Ronsel being the most literal and brutal example. Discuss the ways in which this theme plays out for the other characters. For instance, how does Laura's silence about her unhappiness on the farm affect her and her marriage? What are the consequences of Jamie's inability to speak to his family about the horrors he experienced in the war? How does speaking or not speaking confer power or take it away?
4. The story is narrated by two farmers, two wives and mothers, and two soldiers. Compare and contrast the ways in which these parallel characters, black and white, view and experience the world.
5. What is the significance of the title? In what ways are each of the characters bound—by the land, by circumstance, by tradition, by the law, by their own limitations? How much of this binding is inescapable and how much is self-imposed? Which characters are most successful in freeing themselves from what binds them?
6. All the characters are products of their time and place, and instances of racism in the book run from Pappy’s outright bigotry to Laura’s more subtle prejudice. Would Laura have thought of herself as racist, and if not, why not? How do the racial views of Laura, Jamie, Henry, and Pappy affect your sympathy for them?
7. The novel deals with many thorny issues: racism, sexual politics, infidelity, war. The characters weigh in on these issues, but what about the author? Does she have a discernable perspective, and if so, how does she convey it?
8. We know very early in the book that something terrible is going to befall Ronsel. How does this sense of inevitability affect the story? Jamie makes Ronsel responsible for his own fate, saying "Maybe that's cowardly of me, making Ronsel's the trigger finger." Is it just cowardice, or is there some truth to what Jamie says? Where would you place the turning point for Ronsel? Who else is complicit in what happens to him, and why?
9. In reflecting on some of the more difficult moral choices made by the characters—Laura's decision to sleep with Jamie, Ronsel's decision to abandon Resl and return to America, Jamie's choice during the lynching scene, Florence's and Jamie's separate decisions to murder Pappy—what would you have done in those same situations? Is it even possible to know? Are there some moral positions that are absolute, or should we take into account things like time and place when making judgments?
10. How is the last chapter of Mudbound different from all the others? Why do you think the author chose to have Ronsel address you, the reader, directly? Do you believe he overcomes the formidable obstacles facing him and finds "something like happiness"? If so, why doesn't the author just say so explicitly? Would a less ambiguous ending have been more or less satisfying?
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Work on Mudbound stories
AGENDA:
Morning Reflection--Thiery Post your response. What does it make you think about?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltun92DfnPY
GREAT MORNING REFLECTION, THIERY!
Review Mudbound assignment and rubric.
Work on "Mudbound" stories. Develop your setting and character voices.
Next Morning reflection: Grace
Morning Reflection--Thiery Post your response. What does it make you think about?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltun92DfnPY
GREAT MORNING REFLECTION, THIERY!
Review Mudbound assignment and rubric.
Work on "Mudbound" stories. Develop your setting and character voices.
Next Morning reflection: Grace
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Mudbound Writing Assignment/Bennington Writing contest
EQ: How does reading Mudbound relate to your major writing assignment?
Mudbound and the other literary works we will read are models for your writing. They are EXEMPLAR TEXTS. Your writing assignments correspond each marking period to aspects of contemporary style and themes.
STYLE: Multiple perspectives and historical fiction
THEMES: Racism post WWII in the American South, families,
African-American soldiers in WWI, life in the Mississippi Delta farming
DUE DATE: Friday, Sept. 27, first draft
What we're actually looking for in your short story now that you have brainstormed an idea and have begun working on it:
1. Length: minimum 5 pages, Times New Roman 12 pt. font, double-spaced
2. Historical Setting: Set your story in the time and place you are interested in and have done research about. The details of this time period should be apparent in your story. Use a padlet or the graphic organizers to take notes.
3. Characters: Just like Mudbound, your story should have multiple perspectives and be told by at least 3 characters whose voices are interwoven throughout the story.
Switch between characters by skipping a space and putting the character's name in capital letters centered above his or her section. Write in the first person point of view from each character's unique perspective.
4. Conflict: Your story should have a significant conflict or incident that involves your characters. Create a key moment for the characters to interact if possible. Be sure to resolve the conflict.
5. DETAILS: As always, SHOW, DON'T TELL
If you have questions, go over the rubric again.
Great ideas so far:
Old West, Confederacy and Civil War, 9/11, Emmett Till, 16th St. Church bombing, Prohibition, Budapest post WWII, Pullman Porters, etc. Keep going!
CONTEST:
Bennington Young Writers
http://www.bennington.edu/youngwriterscompetition.aspx
Mudbound and the other literary works we will read are models for your writing. They are EXEMPLAR TEXTS. Your writing assignments correspond each marking period to aspects of contemporary style and themes.
STYLE: Multiple perspectives and historical fiction
THEMES: Racism post WWII in the American South, families,
African-American soldiers in WWI, life in the Mississippi Delta farming
DUE DATE: Friday, Sept. 27, first draft
What we're actually looking for in your short story now that you have brainstormed an idea and have begun working on it:
1. Length: minimum 5 pages, Times New Roman 12 pt. font, double-spaced
2. Historical Setting: Set your story in the time and place you are interested in and have done research about. The details of this time period should be apparent in your story. Use a padlet or the graphic organizers to take notes.
3. Characters: Just like Mudbound, your story should have multiple perspectives and be told by at least 3 characters whose voices are interwoven throughout the story.
Switch between characters by skipping a space and putting the character's name in capital letters centered above his or her section. Write in the first person point of view from each character's unique perspective.
4. Conflict: Your story should have a significant conflict or incident that involves your characters. Create a key moment for the characters to interact if possible. Be sure to resolve the conflict.
5. DETAILS: As always, SHOW, DON'T TELL
If you have questions, go over the rubric again.
Great ideas so far:
Old West, Confederacy and Civil War, 9/11, Emmett Till, 16th St. Church bombing, Prohibition, Budapest post WWII, Pullman Porters, etc. Keep going!
CONTEST:
Bennington Young Writers
http://www.bennington.edu/youngwriterscompetition.aspx
More about Mudbound
AGENDA:
Starting the day right:
Morning Reflection/Writing Practice (ala National Writing Practice) Thiery next on Thursday
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=piano+guys+youtube&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=E1ABB5261BF2A22C6716E1ABB5261BF2A22C6716
Write a reflection on what you have seen and post as a comment.
Read Hillary Jordan's blog post: "Lessons from Advertising"
http://www.bookbrowse.com/blogs/editor/index.cfm/2009/4/5/Guest-blog-by-Hillary-Jordan-author-of-iMudboundi
Look up the word: Miscegenation
Continue to work on your historical short story. Research the time and place (setting). What was happening in the world at this time?
Develop your 3 characters:
Explore your characters' motivations. Interrogate them.
http://thewritepractice.com/how-to-explore-your-characters-motivations/
Interesting website for character and setting development:
http://www.the-writers-craft.com/creative-writing-worksheets.html
HOMEWORK: Finish reading PART TWO in Mudbound
Starting the day right:
Morning Reflection/Writing Practice (ala National Writing Practice) Thiery next on Thursday
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=piano+guys+youtube&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=E1ABB5261BF2A22C6716E1ABB5261BF2A22C6716
Write a reflection on what you have seen and post as a comment.
Read Hillary Jordan's blog post: "Lessons from Advertising"
http://www.bookbrowse.com/blogs/editor/index.cfm/2009/4/5/Guest-blog-by-Hillary-Jordan-author-of-iMudboundi
Look up the word: Miscegenation
Continue to work on your historical short story. Research the time and place (setting). What was happening in the world at this time?
Develop your 3 characters:
Explore your characters' motivations. Interrogate them.
http://thewritepractice.com/how-to-explore-your-characters-motivations/
Interesting website for character and setting development:
http://www.the-writers-craft.com/creative-writing-worksheets.html
HOMEWORK: Finish reading PART TWO in Mudbound
Friday, September 13, 2013
Mudbound/Historical Fiction
AGENDA:
HMWK: Read to pg. 182 in Part 2 for TUESDAY
Handout: Reading check, multiple choice questions on Part 1--you may use your books! This is just to check your reading and recall
Activity:
THINK, PAIR SHARE
The symbol of family relationships is a strong one in "Mudbound". Using examples from the text, pick a card with a number, discuss with a partner and post a comment about the nature of one of the relationships below:
1. Jamie and Laura
2. Laura and Henry
3. Henry and Jamie
4. Florence and Ronsel
5. Ronsel and Hap
6. Florence and Hap
Writing
Work on your own short stories, create a padlet of historical images, develop 3 characters
Have a great weekend!
HMWK: Read to pg. 182 in Part 2 for TUESDAY
Handout: Reading check, multiple choice questions on Part 1--you may use your books! This is just to check your reading and recall
Activity:
THINK, PAIR SHARE
The symbol of family relationships is a strong one in "Mudbound". Using examples from the text, pick a card with a number, discuss with a partner and post a comment about the nature of one of the relationships below:
1. Jamie and Laura
2. Laura and Henry
3. Henry and Jamie
4. Florence and Ronsel
5. Ronsel and Hap
6. Florence and Hap
Writing
Work on your own short stories, create a padlet of historical images, develop 3 characters
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Historical Fiction/Setting--Time and Place
AGENDA:
Mudbound's Setting
Time and Place
EQ: How does the setting of a novel, time and place, function in the telling of the story?
Work on padlet for Mudbound
Work on your own story--what images are connected with the time and place you are setting your story. Create a padlet for your story?
Mississippi 1948, the role of African Americans in WWII
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/02/0215_tuskegee.html
http://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/ww2-pictures/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_Delta
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1948.html
http://www.brainyhistory.com/years/1948.html
http://padlet.com/wall/ihgzk6ztes
HMWK: Read to pg.
Mudbound's Setting
Time and Place
EQ: How does the setting of a novel, time and place, function in the telling of the story?
Work on padlet for Mudbound
Work on your own story--what images are connected with the time and place you are setting your story. Create a padlet for your story?
Mississippi 1948, the role of African Americans in WWII
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/02/0215_tuskegee.html
http://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/ww2-pictures/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_Delta
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1948.html
http://www.brainyhistory.com/years/1948.html
http://padlet.com/wall/ihgzk6ztes
HMWK: Read to pg.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Mudbound
AGENDA:
EQ: WHAT IS FIRST PERSON NARRATION AND WHY DID JORDAN CHOOSE TO USE IT FOR MUDBOUND WITH 6 DIFFERENT VOICES?
HMWK: for Wednesday, read through pg. 82
THINK, PAIR, SHARE:
Having read the first two chapters of Mudbound, work with a partner to answer the following questions and discuss your answers.
Level 1 questions Close Reading for text details
1. How are Jamie and Henry related?
2. What is Jamie doing at the beginning of the book?
3. Why is Jamie rushing in what he is doing at the beginning of the book?
4. How deep does Henry dig the grave at the beginning of the book?
5. Why does Henry dig so deep at the beginning of the book?
6. Who is Henry digging a grave for at the beginning of the book?
7. How is the coffin described at the beginning of the book?
8. What did Laura decide on her 30th birthday?
9. What is Henry's last name?
10. What is Henry's occupation?
11. Who introduced Laura and Henry?
12. Who encouraged Henry to pursue Laura?
13. Why did Henry leave town while courting Laura?
14. What did Henry do when he returned to town while courting Laura?
15. How did Laura describe Jamie when she met him?
16. How much older than Jamie is Henry?
17. When did Laura meet most of Henry's family?
18. How did Laura describe Henry's family when she met them?
19. Where was Laura married?
20. How long did Laura have bliss in her marriage?
What can you infer from your answers about the characters and their relationships?
What kind of foreshadowing of the plot can you infer from what Laura says on the bottom of pg. 13-the top of pg. 14?
Level 2 questions Interpretation of Literary Strategy
Discuss some of the reasons for choosing this kind of first person narration. How does seeing
these events through many different character's eyes affect the story? How does this kind of narration make you feel as a reader? Do you like it? Do you think it will enhance the plot? Why or why not? What do all the different viewpoints do to the narrative? Why is this not through the eyes of one main character?
POST A COMMENT OF YOUR OBSERVATIONS AS A TEAM CITING EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIMS.
Style
Point of View
The novel is written in the first person point of view. The narrating character changes from section to section with the writer alerting the reader to the change in narrating character by placing the character's name at the beginning of the chapter section.
The use of the first person point of view is an intimate choice, allowing the writer to speak directly to the reader through the voice of her characters. In most first person point of view novels, the narrating character is the main character of the novel and the entire novel is told through that character's eyes. However, in this novel the writer uses all the major characters in her novel as her narrating characters, giving the reader a well-rounded story while still keeping the intimacy of the first person point of view. It is a new and unique way to use the first person point of view and is handled with great skill.
Setting
The majority of the novel takes place at Mudbound, a moderate sized farm on the Mississippi Delta. The farm is primitive, lacking some of the basic comforts such as electricity and running water. The farm is constantly covered in mud from the frequent storms that pass over the area and dust when the rains are kept at bay. As a part of the south in the1940s, the setting of the novel is also a hotbed of racial tensions, leaving the black characters of the novel in danger of the lawlessness of the time toward blacks.
The setting of this novel is important because the time and place sets up some of the tensions that propel the plot. The uncomfortable accommodations of the farm create a situation that allows Laura to feel neglected by her husband and opens her to an inappropriate relationship with her brother-in-law. At the same time, the setting also places a great burden on the Jackson family, a black tenant family on Mudbound who face many obstacles in their attempts to raise a family and live a comfortable life. With the return of their son from the war, these obstacles grow substantially as he finds himself a target of racial hatred. For these reasons, the setting of the novel is deeply essential to the tensions that drive the plot to its climax.
Language and Meaning
The language of the novel is basic English. The author has created characters who are living in a time period and place that has its own unique uses of language. The author does not delve deeply into the slang that characterizes this time period, but she does use some basic grammar choices that makes the characters come to life and feel authentic to their time period.
The language of this novel is basic, simple English that is not filled with too many difficult words or phrases or unique grammar and spellings. However, some of the language is a little more complicated than the reader might expect in order to reflect the high education level of two of the main characters. The writer does not slip into stereotypes to express the thoughts and opinions of some of the main characters, moving slightly away from authenticity, but making her novel easy for the average reader to enjoy.
Structure
The novel is divided into three parts. Each part is filled with sections that tell a story from the narrative point of view of more than six characters. These characters tell their story in the first person point of view, each giving their own vision of a series of events that lead to tragedy for two families. The story is told in the past tense, beginning in the present and moving into the past to explain how the characters got to that point in their lives.
The novel contains multiple plots, including one main plot and multiple subplots. The main plot tells the story of how the Jackson and McAllan families became involved in the maiming of one young man. Some of the subplots describe the relationships between all the main characters, the romance between Laura and Jamie, and the difficulties Pappy causes for all those around him. Each plot comes to a satisfying conclusion at the end of the novel.
WRITING PRACTICE:
Test 1 from Natalie Goldberg's Old Friend from Far Away
Choose one paragraph and write it in 3rd person. How does this change the paragraph?
EQ: WHAT IS FIRST PERSON NARRATION AND WHY DID JORDAN CHOOSE TO USE IT FOR MUDBOUND WITH 6 DIFFERENT VOICES?
HMWK: for Wednesday, read through pg. 82
THINK, PAIR, SHARE:
Having read the first two chapters of Mudbound, work with a partner to answer the following questions and discuss your answers.
Level 1 questions Close Reading for text details
1. How are Jamie and Henry related?
2. What is Jamie doing at the beginning of the book?
3. Why is Jamie rushing in what he is doing at the beginning of the book?
4. How deep does Henry dig the grave at the beginning of the book?
5. Why does Henry dig so deep at the beginning of the book?
6. Who is Henry digging a grave for at the beginning of the book?
7. How is the coffin described at the beginning of the book?
8. What did Laura decide on her 30th birthday?
9. What is Henry's last name?
10. What is Henry's occupation?
11. Who introduced Laura and Henry?
12. Who encouraged Henry to pursue Laura?
13. Why did Henry leave town while courting Laura?
14. What did Henry do when he returned to town while courting Laura?
15. How did Laura describe Jamie when she met him?
16. How much older than Jamie is Henry?
17. When did Laura meet most of Henry's family?
18. How did Laura describe Henry's family when she met them?
19. Where was Laura married?
20. How long did Laura have bliss in her marriage?
What can you infer from your answers about the characters and their relationships?
What kind of foreshadowing of the plot can you infer from what Laura says on the bottom of pg. 13-the top of pg. 14?
Level 2 questions Interpretation of Literary Strategy
Discuss some of the reasons for choosing this kind of first person narration. How does seeing
these events through many different character's eyes affect the story? How does this kind of narration make you feel as a reader? Do you like it? Do you think it will enhance the plot? Why or why not? What do all the different viewpoints do to the narrative? Why is this not through the eyes of one main character?
POST A COMMENT OF YOUR OBSERVATIONS AS A TEAM CITING EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT TO SUPPORT YOUR CLAIMS.
Style
Point of View
The novel is written in the first person point of view. The narrating character changes from section to section with the writer alerting the reader to the change in narrating character by placing the character's name at the beginning of the chapter section.
The use of the first person point of view is an intimate choice, allowing the writer to speak directly to the reader through the voice of her characters. In most first person point of view novels, the narrating character is the main character of the novel and the entire novel is told through that character's eyes. However, in this novel the writer uses all the major characters in her novel as her narrating characters, giving the reader a well-rounded story while still keeping the intimacy of the first person point of view. It is a new and unique way to use the first person point of view and is handled with great skill.
Setting
The majority of the novel takes place at Mudbound, a moderate sized farm on the Mississippi Delta. The farm is primitive, lacking some of the basic comforts such as electricity and running water. The farm is constantly covered in mud from the frequent storms that pass over the area and dust when the rains are kept at bay. As a part of the south in the1940s, the setting of the novel is also a hotbed of racial tensions, leaving the black characters of the novel in danger of the lawlessness of the time toward blacks.
The setting of this novel is important because the time and place sets up some of the tensions that propel the plot. The uncomfortable accommodations of the farm create a situation that allows Laura to feel neglected by her husband and opens her to an inappropriate relationship with her brother-in-law. At the same time, the setting also places a great burden on the Jackson family, a black tenant family on Mudbound who face many obstacles in their attempts to raise a family and live a comfortable life. With the return of their son from the war, these obstacles grow substantially as he finds himself a target of racial hatred. For these reasons, the setting of the novel is deeply essential to the tensions that drive the plot to its climax.
Language and Meaning
The language of the novel is basic English. The author has created characters who are living in a time period and place that has its own unique uses of language. The author does not delve deeply into the slang that characterizes this time period, but she does use some basic grammar choices that makes the characters come to life and feel authentic to their time period.
The language of this novel is basic, simple English that is not filled with too many difficult words or phrases or unique grammar and spellings. However, some of the language is a little more complicated than the reader might expect in order to reflect the high education level of two of the main characters. The writer does not slip into stereotypes to express the thoughts and opinions of some of the main characters, moving slightly away from authenticity, but making her novel easy for the average reader to enjoy.
Structure
The novel is divided into three parts. Each part is filled with sections that tell a story from the narrative point of view of more than six characters. These characters tell their story in the first person point of view, each giving their own vision of a series of events that lead to tragedy for two families. The story is told in the past tense, beginning in the present and moving into the past to explain how the characters got to that point in their lives.
The novel contains multiple plots, including one main plot and multiple subplots. The main plot tells the story of how the Jackson and McAllan families became involved in the maiming of one young man. Some of the subplots describe the relationships between all the main characters, the romance between Laura and Jamie, and the difficulties Pappy causes for all those around him. Each plot comes to a satisfying conclusion at the end of the novel.
WRITING PRACTICE:
Test 1 from Natalie Goldberg's Old Friend from Far Away
Choose one paragraph and write it in 3rd person. How does this change the paragraph?
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Mudbound by Hilary Jordan
Welcome Back to SOTA and Contemporary Writers
AGENDA:
Read previous post by Jane Hirschfield
Read Terry Tempest Williams' "Why I Write"
Write your own "Why I Write"
Sign out Mudbound
Go to website:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88195380
Listen to interview on NPR
Read excerpt
Interview with Hilary Jordan:
http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/1538/Hillary-Jordan
More about Mudbound:
http://www.hillaryjordan.com/books-mudbound.php
In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle
and brutal. It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise
her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm --- a place she
finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles,
two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan,
Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not --- charming,
handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest
son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come
home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense
of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow
South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that
drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion.
The men and women of each family relate their versions of events and we are drawn into their lives as they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale. As Barbara Kingsolver says of Hillary Jordan, "Her characters walked straight out of 1940s Mississippi and into the part of my brain where sympathy and anger and love reside, leaving my heart racing. They are with me still."
1. The setting of the Mississippi Delta is intrinsic to Mudbound. Discuss the ways in
which the land functions as a character in the novel and how each of the other characters
relates to it.
2. Mudbound is a chorus, told in six different voices. How do the changes in perspective affect your understanding of the story? Are all six voices equally sympathetic? Reliable? Pappy is the only main character who has no narrative voice. Why do you think the author chose not to let him speak?
3. Who gets to speak and who is silent or silenced is a central theme, the silencing of Ronsel being the most literal and brutal example. Discuss the ways in which this theme plays out for the other characters. For instance, how does Laura's silence about her unhappiness on the farm affect her and her marriage? What are the consequences of Jamie's inability to speak to his family about the horrors he experienced in the war? How does speaking or not speaking confer power or take it away?
4. The story is narrated by two farmers, two wives and mothers, and two soldiers. Compare and contrast the ways in which these parallel characters, black and white, view and experience the world.
5. What is the significance of the title? In what ways are each of the characters bound --- by the land, by circumstance, by tradition, by the law, by their own limitations? How much of this binding is inescapable and how much is self-imposed? Which characters are most successful in freeing themselves from what binds them?
6. All the characters are products of their time and place, and instances of racism in the book run from Pappy’s outright bigotry to Laura’s more subtle prejudice. Would Laura have thought of herself as racist, and if not, why not? How do the racial views of Laura, Jamie, Henry, and Pappy affect your sympathy for them?
7. The novel deals with many thorny issues: racism, sexual politics, infidelity, war. The characters weigh in on these issues, but what about the author? Does she have a discernable perspective, and if so, how does she convey it?
8. We know very early in the book that something terrible is going to befall Ronsel. How does this sense of inevitability affect the story? Jamie makes Ronsel responsible for his own fate, saying "Maybe that's cowardly of me, making Ronsel's the trigger finger." Is it just cowardice, or is there some truth to what Jamie says? Where would you place the turning point for Ronsel? Who else is complicit in what happens to him, and why?
9. In reflecting on some of the more difficult moral choices made by the characters --- Laura's decision to sleep with Jamie, Ronsel's decision to abandon Resl and return to America, Jamie's choice during the lynching scene, Florence's and Jamie's separate decisions to murder Pappy --- what would you have done in those same situations? Is it even possible to know? Are there some moral positions that are absolute, or should we take into account things like time and place when making judgments?
10. How is the last chapter of Mudbound different from all the others? Why do you think the author chose to have Ronsel address you, the reader, directly? Do you believe he overcomes the formidable obstacles facing him and finds "something like happiness"? If so, why doesn't the author just say so explicitly? Would a less ambiguous ending have been more or less satisfying?
AGENDA:Read previous post by Jane Hirschfield
Read Terry Tempest Williams' "Why I Write"
Write your own "Why I Write"
Sign out Mudbound
Go to website:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88195380
Listen to interview on NPR
Read excerpt
Interview with Hilary Jordan:
http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/1538/Hillary-Jordan
More about Mudbound:
http://www.hillaryjordan.com/books-mudbound.php
In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle
and brutal. It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise
her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm --- a place she
finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles,
two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan,
Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not --- charming,
handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest
son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come
home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense
of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow
South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that
drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion.
The men and women of each family relate their versions of events and we are drawn into their lives as they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale. As Barbara Kingsolver says of Hillary Jordan, "Her characters walked straight out of 1940s Mississippi and into the part of my brain where sympathy and anger and love reside, leaving my heart racing. They are with me still."
2. Mudbound is a chorus, told in six different voices. How do the changes in perspective affect your understanding of the story? Are all six voices equally sympathetic? Reliable? Pappy is the only main character who has no narrative voice. Why do you think the author chose not to let him speak?
3. Who gets to speak and who is silent or silenced is a central theme, the silencing of Ronsel being the most literal and brutal example. Discuss the ways in which this theme plays out for the other characters. For instance, how does Laura's silence about her unhappiness on the farm affect her and her marriage? What are the consequences of Jamie's inability to speak to his family about the horrors he experienced in the war? How does speaking or not speaking confer power or take it away?
4. The story is narrated by two farmers, two wives and mothers, and two soldiers. Compare and contrast the ways in which these parallel characters, black and white, view and experience the world.
5. What is the significance of the title? In what ways are each of the characters bound --- by the land, by circumstance, by tradition, by the law, by their own limitations? How much of this binding is inescapable and how much is self-imposed? Which characters are most successful in freeing themselves from what binds them?
6. All the characters are products of their time and place, and instances of racism in the book run from Pappy’s outright bigotry to Laura’s more subtle prejudice. Would Laura have thought of herself as racist, and if not, why not? How do the racial views of Laura, Jamie, Henry, and Pappy affect your sympathy for them?
7. The novel deals with many thorny issues: racism, sexual politics, infidelity, war. The characters weigh in on these issues, but what about the author? Does she have a discernable perspective, and if so, how does she convey it?
8. We know very early in the book that something terrible is going to befall Ronsel. How does this sense of inevitability affect the story? Jamie makes Ronsel responsible for his own fate, saying "Maybe that's cowardly of me, making Ronsel's the trigger finger." Is it just cowardice, or is there some truth to what Jamie says? Where would you place the turning point for Ronsel? Who else is complicit in what happens to him, and why?
9. In reflecting on some of the more difficult moral choices made by the characters --- Laura's decision to sleep with Jamie, Ronsel's decision to abandon Resl and return to America, Jamie's choice during the lynching scene, Florence's and Jamie's separate decisions to murder Pappy --- what would you have done in those same situations? Is it even possible to know? Are there some moral positions that are absolute, or should we take into account things like time and place when making judgments?
10. How is the last chapter of Mudbound different from all the others? Why do you think the author chose to have Ronsel address you, the reader, directly? Do you believe he overcomes the formidable obstacles facing him and finds "something like happiness"? If so, why doesn't the author just say so explicitly? Would a less ambiguous ending have been more or less satisfying?
"A supremely readable debut novel... Fluidly narrated by engaging characters . . . Mudbound is packed with drama. Pick it up, then pass it on."
— People, Critic’s Choice, 4-star review
"A compelling family tragedy, a confluence of romantic attraction and racial hatred that eventually falls like an avalanche... The last third of the book is downright breathless... An engaging story."
— Washington Post Book World
"In Hillary Jordan's first novel, Mudbound, the forces of change and resistance collide with terrible consequences."— The New York Times
"Stunning... You are truly taken there by Jordan's powerful, evocative writing and complex characters."— Boston Globe
Why I Write
Date: October 10, 2011
Summary:
Prize-winning international poet, translator, and essayist Jane
Hirshfield's poetry speaks to the central issues of human existence:
desire and loss, impermanence and beauty, and the many dimensions of our
connection with others. She tells NWP why she writes.
JANE HIRSHFIELD
Why do I write?
I
write because to write a new sentence, let alone a new poem, is to
cross the threshold into both a larger existence and a profound mystery.
A thought was not there, then it is. An image, a story, an idea about
what it is to be human, did not exist, then it does. With every new
poem, an emotion new to the heart, to the world, speaks itself into
being. Any new metaphor is a telescope, a canoe in rapids, an MRI
machine. And like that MRI machine, sometimes its looking is accompanied
by an awful banging. To write can be frightening as well as magnetic.
You don't know what will happen when you throw open your windows and
doors.
To write a new sentence, let alone a new poem, is to cross the threshold into both a larger existence and a profound mystery.
Why
write? You might as well ask a fish, why swim, ask an apple tree, why
make apples? The eye wants to look, the ear wants to hear, the heart
wants to feel more than it thought it could bear...
The
writer, when she or he cannot write, is a person outside the gates of
her own being. Not long ago, I stood like that for months, disbarred
from myself. Then, one sentence arrived; another. And I? I was a woman
in love. For that also is what writing is. Every sentence that comes for
a writer when actually writing—however imperfect, however
inadequate—every sentence is a love poem to this world and to our good
luck at being here, alive, in it.
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