18 revised

1. ELIT 48C Class 18ELIT 48C Class 18
Disinterested Versus UninterestedDisinterested Versus Uninterested

3. Chair Poet?
I would define poetry
as the rhythmical
creation of beauty.
- Edgar Allen Poe
I would define poetry
as the rhythmical
creation of beauty.
- Edgar Allen Poe

4. AGENDA
• Ellison
– Prologue
– “Battle Royal”
– Historical Context
– Themes and Style
• Lecture
– Introduction to The Beats
– Author Introduction: Ginsberg
– Howl
– Themes; forms and devices
• Author Introductions:
– Gloria Anzuldua
– Maxine Hong Kingston
• Ellison
– Prologue
– “Battle Royal”
– Historical Context
– Themes and Style
• Lecture
– Introduction to The Beats
– Author Introduction: Ginsberg
– Howl
– Themes; forms and devices
• Author Introductions:
– Gloria Anzuldua
– Maxine Hong Kingston

5. Selections from Invisible Man

6. Group Discussion 1.What does the reader know
about the narrator solely on
the basis of the Prologue?
Explain both what he reveals
about himself explicitly and
what inferences can be
drawn, justifying your findings
as you go along.
2.Why would the audience
listening to the narrator’s
speech have reacted so
strongly to the narrator’s
mistake? Discuss the
implications of his slip of the
tongue.
3.QHQ
1.What does the reader know
about the narrator solely on
the basis of the Prologue?
Explain both what he reveals
about himself explicitly and
what inferences can be
drawn, justifying your findings
as you go along.
2.Why would the audience
listening to the narrator’s
speech have reacted so
strongly to the narrator’s
mistake? Discuss the
implications of his slip of the
tongue.
3.QHQ

7. ProloguePrologue
1. What does the narrator tell us about himself in the very beginning of the
prologue?
2. To what does the narrator attribute his invisibility?
3. Why does the narrator attack a man in the street?
4. What is the name of the company with which the narrator claims to be
“having a fight”?
5. What reason does the narrator give for his fight with this company?
6. Whose music does the narrator enjoy?
7. What is described in the first part of the narrator’s fantasy?
8. When the narrator talks to the old woman in his fantasy, what reason does
she give for loving her old master?
9. Why does one of the old woman’s sons attack the narrator in the fantasy?
10. What has the narrator done to make his dwelling-place more livable?

8. The Prologue
• What does the reader
know about the
narrator solely on the
basis of the Prologue?
Explain both what he
reveals about himself
explicitly and what
inferences can be
drawn, justifying your
findings as you go
along.
Invisible Man 1952
By Ralph Ellison

9. QHQ: PrologueQHQ: Prologue
1. Q: What does the quote “light confirms my reality, gives birth
to my form” (210) tell us about the invisible man?
1. Q: Why does “light” play such an important factor to the
Invisible Man?
2. In the prologue of Invisible Man narrator states “perhaps
you’ll think it strange that an invisible man should need light.”
“but maybe it is exactly because i am invisible.”(210) What
does the narrator mean by this contradiction? statement and
how does this contradiction help one learn more about the
narrator?
3. Q: What does the narrator mean when he says, “I’ve
illuminated the blackness of my invisibility- and vice versa”?

10. Themes and MeaningsThemes and Meanings
The battle royal episode introduces many of the themes of the
novel: Social Darwinism, which metaphorically encourages
individuals to fight to the finish in order to receive rewards; the
ways in which the black community's strongest and wiliest
members take advantage of their fellows, refusing to cooperate
against the common white enemy just as Tatlock refuses to fake
defeat; the corrupting influence of prizes and praise on the
narrator himself; and the need for the white establishment to
maintain symbolic as well as literal power over the black
community. “Battle Royal” provides insight into thematic crux
of the larger work: how to respond to the cruelty of racism
while retaining one's decency and humanity.

11. “Battle Royal”“Battle Royal”
“Battle Royal” was first published as a short story in Horizon in
1947 under the title “Invisible Man.” It later became the first
chapter of Ralph Ellison's only novel, Invisible Man (1952). “Battle
Royal” provides a fascinating window into the creative forces that
produced Invisible Man.
Grandfather episodes provide the thematic motor that drives much
of the novel: a study of a naïve young man who is wounded by
racism but unsure how to respond. He wants to be a good
member of his family and community but fails to understand the
poisonous effect that southern race relations have on even such
simple acts as delivering a harmless graduation speech. The story
makes clear just what the narrator will face in his maturity.

12. Battle Royal
1. How do the adults respond to the grandfather’s deathbed speech?
2. Where does the battle royal take place?
3. What kinds of men does the narrator see in the audience?
4. What does the blond woman have tattooed on her belly?
5. How is the boxing match made more entertaining for the audience?
6. How does the narrator try to appease Tatlock when the two are
boxing?
7. How do the whites first try to pay the young men for their boxing?
8. Are the coins real?
9. What happens when the narrator accepts the briefcase presented to
him?
10. Who is in the dream the narrator has at the end of the chapter?

13. Why would the audience listening to the
narrator’s speech have reacted so strongly to
the narrator’s mistake? Discuss the
implications of his slip of the tongue.
“Battle Royal”

14. QHQ: “Battle Royal”QHQ: “Battle Royal”
1. Q: How does his Grandfather influence the Invisible
man?
2. Q: Was the narrator’s scholarship to the state college
for Negroes at the end really a reward?
3. Q: Why were the boxers blindfolded?
4. Q: In what ways are the black men emasculated by the
white society?
1. Q: How does his Grandfather influence the Invisible
man?
2. Q: Was the narrator’s scholarship to the state college
for Negroes at the end really a reward?
3. Q: Why were the boxers blindfolded?
4. Q: In what ways are the black men emasculated by the
white society?

15. Kerouac Ginsberg
Cassidy
Ferlinghetti
Kerouac

16. The BeatsThe Beats
• The literary movement called the Beat Generation burst
into American consciousness with two books published
in the late 1950s. The first, Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and
Other Poems (1956), stirred both controversy and an
obscenity trial for Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who offered
copies for sale in his San Francisco bookstore.
• The second book, Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957)
had a profound cultural effect when it was published. It
was the Beat Generation’s manifesto.
• The literary movement called the Beat Generation burst
into American consciousness with two books published
in the late 1950s. The first, Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and
Other Poems (1956), stirred both controversy and an
obscenity trial for Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who offered
copies for sale in his San Francisco bookstore.
• The second book, Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957)
had a profound cultural effect when it was published. It
was the Beat Generation’s manifesto.

17. http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/allen_gin
sberg_reads_his_beat_classic_poem_howl.ht
ml
http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/allen_gin
sberg_reads_his_beat_classic_poem_howl.ht
ml

18. …was a turning point in American literary history. Ginsberg
created a new, radically different, space and style for writing,
and he pushed back against the narrow modes of expression
acknowledged by the literary establishment.
Ginsberg’s poem, which must be heard to truly be appreciated
and understood, reclaimed the strength and influence of the
poet’s singing voice; it denied those who insisted poetry in print
was most important. Ginsberg used chants to modulate moods
and build rhythmic power through systems of sound, compelling
audience participation.
…was a turning point in American literary history. Ginsberg
created a new, radically different, space and style for writing,
and he pushed back against the narrow modes of expression
acknowledged by the literary establishment.
Ginsberg’s poem, which must be heard to truly be appreciated
and understood, reclaimed the strength and influence of the
poet’s singing voice; it denied those who insisted poetry in print
was most important. Ginsberg used chants to modulate moods
and build rhythmic power through systems of sound, compelling
audience participation.
Allen Ginsberg’s first public performance
of “Howl” (1955)
Allen Ginsberg’s first public performance
of “Howl” (1955)

19. “Howl” represents the birth of the 1960’s counterculture,
endeavoring to extoll its ethics explain its meaning, celebrate its
beauty, and defend its ostensibly aberrant and rebellious
behavior.
The driving force of the poem is the message of community and
tolerance as parts of an ideal America.
He is one of the first to acknowledge sexual “deviants,” radical
activists, extraordinary, unconventional artists, and
experimenters with forbidden substances.
Ginsberg wanted a country that accepted eccentricity and
individualism. He wanted to redeem the society he saw as built
of greed and materialism.
“Howl” represents the birth of the 1960’s counterculture,
endeavoring to extoll its ethics explain its meaning, celebrate its
beauty, and defend its ostensibly aberrant and rebellious
behavior.
The driving force of the poem is the message of community and
tolerance as parts of an ideal America.
He is one of the first to acknowledge sexual “deviants,” radical
activists, extraordinary, unconventional artists, and
experimenters with forbidden substances.
Ginsberg wanted a country that accepted eccentricity and
individualism. He wanted to redeem the society he saw as built
of greed and materialism.
Themes

20. Postmodern AspectsPostmodern Aspects
• A collapse of the distinctions between high and low culture.
• Consider the lines: “Mohammedan angels staggering on tenement roofs
illuminated” and “angel headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly
connection to the starry dynamo.” Ginsberg fuses the high imagery of the
angelic and celestial with the ramshackle tenement rooftop, with beat slang
and pop language.
• A fragmentation of the self: a de-centering of the individual as
subject.
• Whilst Part I begins with an affirmation of the subject – “I saw the best
minds of my generation destroyed” – the “I” is soon dissolved in favor of
the “who.” Each descriptive line is no longer the sole possession of the
subject. They all occupy a general, rather than individual space. After only
a few lines of the poem, the self is completely consumed by the descriptive
‘other’: there is no anchored ‘I’, no centered subject.
• A collapse of the distinctions between high and low culture.
• Consider the lines: “Mohammedan angels staggering on tenement roofs
illuminated” and “angel headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly
connection to the starry dynamo.” Ginsberg fuses the high imagery of the
angelic and celestial with the ramshackle tenement rooftop, with beat slang
and pop language.
• A fragmentation of the self: a de-centering of the individual as
subject.
• Whilst Part I begins with an affirmation of the subject – “I saw the best
minds of my generation destroyed” – the “I” is soon dissolved in favor of
the “who.” Each descriptive line is no longer the sole possession of the
subject. They all occupy a general, rather than individual space. After only
a few lines of the poem, the self is completely consumed by the descriptive
‘other’: there is no anchored ‘I’, no centered subject.

21. • Altered states of consciousness: Part II of Howl was written
under the influence of peyote.
• Many of the effects of the new drugs of the post-war period
could be seen as ‘de-centering’ the subject (through
hallucination or otherwise) in a postmodern way.
• Pastiche: One good example of pastiche is the channel-flipping
viewer: a successive chain of images appear onscreen but are not
connected by any meaningful narrative; rather it is the sensations
of the surface images that the viewer consumes.
• If we read “Howl” looking for the sensations created by the
language, we can see the disruption of the grand narrative.
Ginsberg flips through images so fast we can barely collect
them much less understand them. He also uses shocking
scenes and offensive language to drive us from moment to
moment. This pushes individuality and eccentricism across or
beyond the modernist grand narrative and disrupts our
understanding of the world.
• Altered states of consciousness: Part II of Howl was written
under the influence of peyote.
• Many of the effects of the new drugs of the post-war period
could be seen as ‘de-centering’ the subject (through
hallucination or otherwise) in a postmodern way.
• Pastiche: One good example of pastiche is the channel-flipping
viewer: a successive chain of images appear onscreen but are not
connected by any meaningful narrative; rather it is the sensations
of the surface images that the viewer consumes.
• If we read “Howl” looking for the sensations created by the
language, we can see the disruption of the grand narrative.
Ginsberg flips through images so fast we can barely collect
them much less understand them. He also uses shocking
scenes and offensive language to drive us from moment to
moment. This pushes individuality and eccentricism across or
beyond the modernist grand narrative and disrupts our
understanding of the world.

22. Themes
• Ginsberg’s attention to radical activists, outrageous
artists, sexual “deviants,” and experimenters with
forbidden substances prefigured the explosion of
variance and defiance of the 1960’s. “Howl” presents this
nascent counterculture and attempts to explain its
meaning and importance, extoll its values, celebrate its
moments of beauty, and defend its seemingly aberrant
and rebellious behavior. The thrust of the poem is an
insistence on the importance of plurality and tolerance as
components of an ideal America—an America in which
examples of individuality and eccentricity would be
accepted so that a society built on greed and materialism
might be transformed and redeemed.
• Ginsberg’s attention to radical activists, outrageous
artists, sexual “deviants,” and experimenters with
forbidden substances prefigured the explosion of
variance and defiance of the 1960’s. “Howl” presents this
nascent counterculture and attempts to explain its
meaning and importance, extoll its values, celebrate its
moments of beauty, and defend its seemingly aberrant
and rebellious behavior. The thrust of the poem is an
insistence on the importance of plurality and tolerance as
components of an ideal America—an America in which
examples of individuality and eccentricity would be
accepted so that a society built on greed and materialism
might be transformed and redeemed.

23. Form and Style

24. In the first part, according to Ginsberg, he used the repetition of the word
“who” to keep the beat. He built “longer and shorter variations on a fixed
base,” elaborate images that were written for both their meaning and “the
beauty of abstract poetry.” He created energy in “awkward combinations
… disparate things put together.” The repeated “who” operates as a
ground beneath each “streak of invention.”
Ginsberg believed that his “concentration and compression of imagistic
notations” such as “hydrogen jukebox” or “bop kaballa” would function
like a haiku, in which juxtapositions stimulate the brain to stir
connections in burst of energy: he called this “lightning in the mind.”
To establish pace, he used “primitive naïve grammar,” which condensed
phrases by removing unnecessary words, eliminating “prosey articles”
that dampened the rhythm.
The goal of his efforts was to “build up large organic structures,”
avoiding any loose or dead areas that would leach energy out of the
poem.
In the first part, according to Ginsberg, he used the repetition of the word
“who” to keep the beat. He built “longer and shorter variations on a fixed
base,” elaborate images that were written for both their meaning and “the
beauty of abstract poetry.” He created energy in “awkward combinations
… disparate things put together.” The repeated “who” operates as a
ground beneath each “streak of invention.”
Ginsberg believed that his “concentration and compression of imagistic
notations” such as “hydrogen jukebox” or “bop kaballa” would function
like a haiku, in which juxtapositions stimulate the brain to stir
connections in burst of energy: he called this “lightning in the mind.”
To establish pace, he used “primitive naïve grammar,” which condensed
phrases by removing unnecessary words, eliminating “prosey articles”
that dampened the rhythm.
The goal of his efforts was to “build up large organic structures,”
avoiding any loose or dead areas that would leach energy out of the
poem.

25. The second part calls forth the series of images of Moloch
—Ginsberg’s ultimate symbol of the evil and damaging
forces of the modern world.
Each line functions as a separate stanza, the line itself
broken into “component short phrases” or “exclamatory
units”; the repetition of the word “Moloch” acts as a
“rhythmical punctuation.”
The section works toward a climax, presenting individual
concepts as exclamations (“Dreams! Adorations!
Illuminations!”).
The conclusion of part 2 is an explosion of energy that sets
a mood of abandon stirred by a chant designed to
stimulate frenzy.
The second part calls forth the series of images of Moloch
—Ginsberg’s ultimate symbol of the evil and damaging
forces of the modern world.
Each line functions as a separate stanza, the line itself
broken into “component short phrases” or “exclamatory
units”; the repetition of the word “Moloch” acts as a
“rhythmical punctuation.”
The section works toward a climax, presenting individual
concepts as exclamations (“Dreams! Adorations!
Illuminations!”).
The conclusion of part 2 is an explosion of energy that sets
a mood of abandon stirred by a chant designed to
stimulate frenzy.

26. Part 3, according to Ginsberg, is a “litany of affirmation” that
restores the tranquility that the Moloch passages disrupted.
Ginsberg’s repetition of a phrase base (“I’m with you in
Rockland”) anchors the section; the individual units are
surrealistic, and Ginsberg works to express the imaginative,
often oblique sense of existence for which Solomon stands.
The final unit is purposefully too long for one breath unit, and
its textual density is developed to carry the weight of
Ginsberg’s last revelation (“where I open out and give the
answer”). This final unit has no rigid punctuation device, as if to
suggest the beginning of a journey “in the Western night” that
replaces the initial journey into nightmare that was introduced
as the poem began with animage of “streets at dawn.”
Part 3, according to Ginsberg, is a “litany of affirmation” that
restores the tranquility that the Moloch passages disrupted.
Ginsberg’s repetition of a phrase base (“I’m with you in
Rockland”) anchors the section; the individual units are
surrealistic, and Ginsberg works to express the imaginative,
often oblique sense of existence for which Solomon stands.
The final unit is purposefully too long for one breath unit, and
its textual density is developed to carry the weight of
Ginsberg’s last revelation (“where I open out and give the
answer”). This final unit has no rigid punctuation device, as if to
suggest the beginning of a journey “in the Western night” that
replaces the initial journey into nightmare that was introduced
as the poem began with animage of “streets at dawn.”

27. Ginsberg depended on repetition of the word “who” to keep
the beat, an approach influenced by Jack Kerouac’s ideas
about improvisation akin to modern jazz. He then built “longer
and shorter variations on a fixed base,” elaborate images
lifting off each basic measure that were written for their
meaning as well as “the beauty of abstract poetry” and the
latent energy found in “awkward combinations … disparate
things put together.” The repeated “who” operates as a ground
beneath each “streak of invention,” but even with this
technique, Ginsberg worried that it would be difficult to sustain
a long line in a long poem. To put “iron poetry back into the
line,” Ginsberg believed that his “concentration
and compression of imagistic notations” such as “hydrogen
jukebox” or “bop kaballa” would function like a haiku, in which
juxtapositions encourage the brain to make a connection in a
leap of energy, which he called “lightning in the mind.”
Ginsberg depended on repetition of the word “who” to keep
the beat, an approach influenced by Jack Kerouac’s ideas
about improvisation akin to modern jazz. He then built “longer
and shorter variations on a fixed base,” elaborate images
lifting off each basic measure that were written for their
meaning as well as “the beauty of abstract poetry” and the
latent energy found in “awkward combinations … disparate
things put together.” The repeated “who” operates as a ground
beneath each “streak of invention,” but even with this
technique, Ginsberg worried that it would be difficult to sustain
a long line in a long poem. To put “iron poetry back into the
line,” Ginsberg believed that his “concentration
and compression of imagistic notations” such as “hydrogen
jukebox” or “bop kaballa” would function like a haiku, in which
juxtapositions encourage the brain to make a connection in a
leap of energy, which he called “lightning in the mind.”

28. Discuss “
Discuss “Howl” in groups for five minutes

29. 1. Q: Why title the poem Howl?
2. Q: What is the first part of Howl talking about?
3. Q. What are some themes in Ginsberg’s poem “Howl”?
4. Q: What is the term “Moloch” referring to?
5. Q. What role does sex and sexuality play in the search
for freedom?
6. Q: Does Ginsberg glorify drug use in Howl?
1. Q: Why title the poem Howl?
2. Q: What is the first part of Howl talking about?
3. Q. What are some themes in Ginsberg’s poem “Howl”?
4. Q: What is the term “Moloch” referring to?
5. Q. What role does sex and sexuality play in the search
for freedom?
6. Q: Does Ginsberg glorify drug use in Howl?
MeaningMeaning

30. 1. Q: What does Ginsberg mean when he states,
“Everything is holy!” in the Footnote to Howl?
2. Q Ginsberg begins 58 lines with the word “who” in the
first part of his poem “HOWL”, exactly who is he
speaking about?
3. Q: What does Ginsberg mean by “who lost their
loveboys to the three old shrews of fate the one eyed
shrew of the heterosexual dollar the one eyed shrew
that winks out of the womb and the one eyed shrew that
does nothing but sit on her ass and snip the intellectual
golden threads of the craftsman’s loom…” (495)?
1. Q: What does Ginsberg mean when he states,
“Everything is holy!” in the Footnote to Howl?
2. Q Ginsberg begins 58 lines with the word “who” in the
first part of his poem “HOWL”, exactly who is he
speaking about?
3. Q: What does Ginsberg mean by “who lost their
loveboys to the three old shrews of fate the one eyed
shrew of the heterosexual dollar the one eyed shrew
that winks out of the womb and the one eyed shrew that
does nothing but sit on her ass and snip the intellectual
golden threads of the craftsman’s loom…” (495)?
MeaningMeaning

31. 1. Q: Who is “Howl” for?
2. Q: Why does Ginsberg choose to incorporate so many
different religions in Howl?
3. Q: Why does Allen Ginsberg mention jazz music? And
how does jazz reflect the Beat Generation in Part I of
“Howl”?
4. Q: Why does Allen Ginsberg include “Footnote to Howl”
after the poem “Howl” itself? Is it meant to be read as a
sub-piece to “Howl” or a separate work that
relates/alludes to “Howl”?
5. Q: How do locations contribute to the many themes in
“Howl”?
1. Q: Who is “Howl” for?
2. Q: Why does Ginsberg choose to incorporate so many
different religions in Howl?
3. Q: Why does Allen Ginsberg mention jazz music? And
how does jazz reflect the Beat Generation in Part I of
“Howl”?
4. Q: Why does Allen Ginsberg include “Footnote to Howl”
after the poem “Howl” itself? Is it meant to be read as a
sub-piece to “Howl” or a separate work that
relates/alludes to “Howl”?
5. Q: How do locations contribute to the many themes in
“Howl”?
PurposePurpose

32. 1.Q: What role does insanity and mental illness
play in the poem?
1.Q: What role does insanity and mental illness
play in the poem?
MadnessMadness

33. 1. What does the “*******” mean or suggest on page 497?
2. Why does Ginsberg use an excess of anaphora and
cataloguing in his poem?
3. Q: What is the significance of Allen Ginsberg dividing
“Howl” into three sections and what might those three
sections be?
4. Why does Allen Ginsburg use short exclamations as a
poetic device in “Howl”?
1. What does the “*******” mean or suggest on page 497?
2. Why does Ginsberg use an excess of anaphora and
cataloguing in his poem?
3. Q: What is the significance of Allen Ginsberg dividing
“Howl” into three sections and what might those three
sections be?
4. Why does Allen Ginsburg use short exclamations as a
poetic device in “Howl”?
Form and StyleForm and Style

34. • Gloria Anzaldua was born
in the Rio Grande Valley
of South Texas in 1942.
She described herself as
a
Chicana/Tejana/lesbian/d
yke/feminist/writer/poet/cu
ltural theorist, and these
identities were just the
beginning of the ideas she
explored in her work. She
died in 2004 of
complications related to
diabetes.
• Gloria Anzaldua was born
in the Rio Grande Valley
of South Texas in 1942.
She described herself as
a
Chicana/Tejana/lesbian/d
yke/feminist/writer/poet/cu
ltural theorist, and these
identities were just the
beginning of the ideas she
explored in her work. She
died in 2004 of
complications related to
diabetes.
Gloria AnzulduaGloria Anzuldua

35. Gloria Anzaldua moved to California in 1977, where she
devoted herself to writing. She continued to participate in
political activism, consciousness-raising, and groups such as
the Feminist Writers Guild. She also looked for ways to build
a multicultural, inclusive feminist movement. Much to her
dissatisfaction, she discovered there were very few writings
either by or about women of color.
Some readers have struggled with the multiple languages in
her writings – English and Spanish, but also variations of
those languages. According to Gloria Anzaldua, when the
reader does the work of piecing together fragments of
language and narrative, it mirrors the way feminists must
struggle to have their ideas heard in a patriarchal society.
Gloria Anzaldua moved to California in 1977, where she
devoted herself to writing. She continued to participate in
political activism, consciousness-raising, and groups such as
the Feminist Writers Guild. She also looked for ways to build
a multicultural, inclusive feminist movement. Much to her
dissatisfaction, she discovered there were very few writings
either by or about women of color.
Some readers have struggled with the multiple languages in
her writings – English and Spanish, but also variations of
those languages. According to Gloria Anzaldua, when the
reader does the work of piecing together fragments of
language and narrative, it mirrors the way feminists must
struggle to have their ideas heard in a patriarchal society.

36. Maxine Hong KingstonMaxine Hong Kingston
• Maxine "Ting Ting" Hong Kingston grew up in a working-
class neighborhood in Stockton, California. Born in 1940
to Tom Hong and Brave Orchid, Kingston is the oldest of
her parents' six American-born children. Kingston's
parents serve as the primary sources for the imaginative
stories she writes. Part 1 of Kingston’s autobiography
Warrior Woman is “No Name Woman,” a secret story of
an aunt from China that she never knew she had.
• Maxine "Ting Ting" Hong Kingston grew up in a working-
class neighborhood in Stockton, California. Born in 1940
to Tom Hong and Brave Orchid, Kingston is the oldest of
her parents' six American-born children. Kingston's
parents serve as the primary sources for the imaginative
stories she writes. Part 1 of Kingston’s autobiography
Warrior Woman is “No Name Woman,” a secret story of
an aunt from China that she never knew she had.

37. HOMEWORK
Read Gloria Anzuldua pp. 837-38
La conciencia de la mestiza/ Towards a New Consciousness
838-49 and “El Sonavabitche” 858-62
Post #23: Choose One
1.QHQ: La conciencia
2.Discuss themes or meaning in “El Sonavabitche”
3.Discuss Postmodernism or Feminist Theory, or Minority Theory in terms of
Anzuldua
Read Maxine Hong Kingston
Warrior Woman: Part 1 “No Name Woman 793-801
Post #24: Choose one
1.Discuss a theme from the reading
2.QHQ
3.Comment on the text via a critical lens.