Sunday, February 15, 2009

Today we begin reading Laura Esquivel's novel Like Water for Chocolate

First, we'll explore how the novel is framed--from the epigraph, to the seasonal/chronological organization, to the use of recipes, and chapters, Esquivel provides more than one frame for her story. Additionally, I want to explore the novel as an example of a romance, using Pamela Regis' eight essential elements of romance novels.

Consider the setting of the story: during the Mexican revolution. How does Esquivel use this setting to express other themes in the novel? What other revolutions do we see? 

Finally, we need to explore how the novel uses magic realism


Wednesday, February 11, 2009

eng 278: hema and kaushik

Today we finish reading Jhumpa Lahiri's short story collection Unaccustomed Earth. As we discussed on Monday, the last three stories are connected, chronicling the lives of Hema and Kaushik. 

Monday we discussed the importance of Point of View. Here, Hema and Kaushik each have their own story, "Once in a Lifetime" and "Year's End," respectively. The third and final story, "Going Ashore," reverts back to our omniscient narrator--this time giving us a peek into each of our characters minds--and then back to Hema's first person narration at the conclusion. What is the significance of this switch in Point of View? What kinds of intimacy and distance does Lahiri create through the narration? 

I also want us to situate Hema and Kaushik's story within the whole collection--how does their story fit in with the themes and issues we've read? Can we begin to draw some conclusions about post-colonial identity, about love and marriage, and cultural intersections, about place, home? Have all of our characters built their lives on "unaccustomed earth"?

Also, to best understand these stories, it helps to look at several key symbols:

water/swimming/drowning/tsunami
photography





Wednesday, February 4, 2009

eng 278: jhumpa lahiri, "only goodness," van eyck, and post-colonialism

The Arnolfini Portrait, painting by Jan van Eyck, 1434. painting is in the National Gallery, London. image courtesy of wikipedia.

In today's story, "Only Goodness," Sudha and Roger meet while looking at this painting. Roger guides Sudha's exploration of the painting, helping her notice the subtle layers within the scene, including the figures reflected in the mirror. What story do you create from this painting? Can you fit Sudha and her family into the world depicted by Van Eyck?

Today we'll also discuss the movement in the story--the trifecta of London, India, and New England marks out a certain post-colonial space that the Bengali families in Lahiri's stories inhabit.