Topic Brain Storm

One: Think about a theme you see running through your life (failure is the best lesson, love is eternal, etc.). Choose a reading that you think also discusses this theme (even if it reaches different conclusions about it). Explore connections between how the theme plays out in your life, and how the theme gets played out in the reading. 

Courage and faith have, both, been constant themes in my life. I grew up on the south side of Chicago, where I was exposed to gangs, violence, drugs, and alcohol. My parents worked hard to shelter my sibling and I from this lifestyle, yet, we were still exposed to it daily when attending school or by merely hanging outside. My faith is what gave me the courage to move out of Chicago, on my own to another state for a better life. I believed there was better and that I deserved better. I chased after this belief.  When I moved to California, I was faced with much opposition along the way, but it never derailed my faith. I continued to find the courage to chase after my dreams. Through the readings, I would like to explore how courage or maybe one’s faith changed an outcome or situation.  I believe that if it was not for my faith in God and my courage to believe that he created me for something greater than what I had been exposed to, I would not be where I am today. 

Two: From a piece of fiction (short story, section of novel, or a play) choose a female character on whom to focus, and create a project that discusses some of the following questions:  

What is the author’s attitude towards her? (how can you tell?)

What is your attitude towards her? 

How do (at least 2) other characters view her? 

How does she view herself? 

I am constantly inspired by the depiction of female characters. I jump at the chance to check whether an author portrays a female character actions as strong or feeble.  For example, I am interested in knowing does the plot of a story change because the main character is a woman? Moreover, I like to see myself in the character of a woman, learning from her whether her actions are good or bad. I also like to see if my attitude towards her is different from the writers. In the same regards, in life, we can view an individual as a hero while others see them as a villain. I believe that perspective is everything, that we must take everything in account not just a person's action. 

Three: Choose one short story or novel excerpt. Write a piece in which you explore the following:

In what ways could this story be considered an artifact of history? 

What does this story teach us about history? 

How does a story teach us about a time or place differently than a history book?

I would like to explore a short story or novel except to examine the historical significance.  It is often said that if we don’t know our past we our doomed to repeat it. I am in total agreement with this statement but is that true with all history.  Are there some stories that need to be left in the past because it adds no value to the present? Moreover, I would like to examine how most history books are fallible and can’t be trusted. Historian June Bam, stated that history books that are plain wrong can do huge psychological damage, such as the school text books in South Africa, which up until 2001, was not reflecting the true history of apartheid. I would like to show that when we read short stories or novels about a certain era, such as this, we can connect with the character, and the emotions behind the events that takes place in the story, as opposed to simply pursuing data presented as facts in a text book. 

Four: Pick a subject: love, work, freedom, etc. Then choose two selections and discuss how that subject is discussed in those selections. Use literary devices to help frame your discussion.  

I welcome the opportunity to choose a subject to compare and discuss from two different reading selections. Choosing this method of analysis gives me the freedom to be creative. I can choose what jumps out at me as opposed to having to write about an assigned subject that I might not be interested in. I can discuss why and how these subjects influences me as the reader. I would like to see if my perspective of these subjects changed after reading the two selections.