Blog Instructions

Greetings,

Our hope is that your summer reading experience will be interesting, thought provoking, educational, and will keep your brains sharp so you are ready to dive right into your humanities work in the fall.

*Please note that it is essential that you you use formal rules of spelling, punctuation and capitalization. Remember that though you are writing on a computer blog, this is not your buddy's Facebook wall. This is a school assignment that your teachers will read. Please capitalize the first word in each sentence, capitalize "I," spell out words (so, not "U," but "YOU), and use commas and periods when appropriate.*

1. Even before getting too far into the book, read all the questions (they are also in the "older post" section. You can can get there by clicking at the bottom of the page).

2. By August 21st (that is the due date), you need to respond to the following required blog questions:

A. Introduction (do this one first)
B. Colonization
C. Character Analysis

You also must respond to two additional blog questions, but you may choose which ones.


3. You must comment on at least two blog posts by your peers. Your comments must be more than "I agree" or "I disagree." Rather, they should be a few sentences long at least, and they should articulate your careful thinking about what your peer wrote (e.g. Why specifically do agree or disagree? What does his or her post make you think about, etc.)

So to summarize, you are required to write five complete posts, and respond to two posts by your peers. All of this MUST BE completed by August 21st.

Remember too that we will collect your book to evaluate your active reading work (see the letter about the summer reading for more information on this requirement). Also remember that you are not allowed to consult on-line help sites about the book (e.g. you need to read the entire book on your own).

Good luck! We look forward to meeting you in person in August.

Sam & Leslie

Introductions

Introduce yourself: What is your name, what middle school did you attend, why did you choose to read this text, and do you have any personal connections to the subject matter (e.g. Africa, England, boarding school)?  Do you tend to have a pessimistic (i.e. negative) or optimistic (i.e. positive) view of Western/American culture?

Character Analysis

Choose one key character from the text and write an in-depth analysis of him or her: What are their core qualities (positive and negative)? What experiences gave them these qualities? What do you ultimately admire and not the character? Why? Two quotes to support your response. 2-4 paragraphs.

Colonization

What seems to be author's point in this text regarding colonization and the effects on Africans of receiving European style educations and European experiences? What is your own reaction to her ideas? Finally, was Tambu brainwashed, or seduced, by the “Englishness?”  Explain. 2-4 paragraphs with at least two quotes to support your ideas.

Nyasha and Tambu

 What do you see as the inner conflicts for Nyasha and Tambu? How does Tambu’s thinking differ from Nyasha’s? Use two quotes to support your response. 1-2 paragraphs.

Gender

In Tambu's culture, what are the challenges that each gender faces? Which one has it toughest? Give two quotes to support your ideas. 2-3 paragraphs.

New Words

 What effect does Dangarembga’s untranslated Shona terms have on your reading of the novel?  Why? 1-2 paragraphs. 

Brother's Death

The narrator Tambudzai, or Tambu, opens the novel by stating flatly, “I was not sorry when my brother died.” She later brings us back to opening moment of the novel again in chapter 3, when Nhamo is late returning from school as expected.What, in your opinion, is the core reason she's not sorry about his death?  Give two pieces of textual evidence (i.e. quotes) to support your idea. 1-2 paragraphs.

Tambu and Lucia

Why does Tambu think the men have underestimated Lucia? What does Lucia do after the family dare? Why does Mainini have trouble making up her mind (p. 153)? Why does Lucia come to the mission with her sister and what is the outcome? How do Nyasha and Tambu differ in their appraisal of Babamukuru getting Lucia a job? (1-2 paragraphs) (From http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/dangarembga.htm#NERVOUSCONDITIONS)

Tambu at the end

Tambu tells us “seeds do grow” p. 203: what does she mean? Why does she no longer accept Sacred Heart as the “sunrise on my horizon”? Interpret the narrator’s closing statements, pp. 203-204. Where do you suppose Tambudzai is now and what might she be doing, at the time when she “set down this story”? What do you imagine that “long and painful process” of “expansion” over many years has meant to Tambudzai? (From http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/dangarembga.htm#NERVOUSCONDITIONS) 1-2 paragraphs