Final Exam Assignment--read below carefully! Due Thursday, Dec.12th

Freshman Composition I: “Travel and Culture

Final Exam Assignment (Short Paper #3): Where Are You From?

In Haile’s essay, “We Go It Alone,” she’s confronted by another hiker who tells her, very matter-of-factly, that “blacks don’t hike.” In other words, when he looks at her he knows where she’s from and who she is—not who she says she is. Often in society, the reality of who we are clashes with how we’re perceived by society, and sometimes, we play along so as not to make waves. Yet our true self can’t be packaged into a stereotype or emblazoned on a t-shirt. To know us, you have to travel in our footsteps, inhabit our thoughts, and forget everything you think you know about where we’re from-from.

So for your final short paper (your final exam), I want you to write about the person who are that no one can see. If someone met you for the first time, what would they never see or guess about you? Why doesn’t this show? Do you try to hide it? Or is it just impossible to show in any visible way? This could be an identity, a hobby, a dream, an aspiration, a career choice, a hobby, or even a person you no longer are (for example, people would never guess I used to have very long hair). Write about why this hidden self is (or was) important to you, and why you think it’s not written on your skin or visible on your clothing. Can people truly understand you without knowing about this? Do you ever try to tell them—or do you fear it will just be lost in translation?

REQUIREMENTS

·        As long as you want it to be, but be descriptive: make connections

·        Don’t make it sound like an assignment; don’t start “my response to this assignment is…” Tell a story, write an essay.

·        You don’t have to quote from the essay or Wild, but you certainly can if you feel it will help your conversation

·        Due Thursday, December 12^th by 5pm

For Thursday: Haile, "We Go It Alone" (BATW, pp.134-142)

Photo from Outside Magazine Online 

REMEMBER: Conversation Paper #2 is due by 5pm on Tuesday: no class! 

NOTE: This is our LAST reading for Comp 1! We have a little more work (not much), but hang in there--it's almost over. 

Here are some things to consider for the essay; we'll have a quiz over it on Thursday.

* Why does race change the experience of the "wild"? How might Strayed's experience been different if she was also of another ethnicity?

* The author says that "you don't talk politics on the trail" (137), but why does she find it impossible not to? Why can some people not avoid talking about politics when talking about the great outdoors?

* Haile says that "perspective is everything," and also notes, "the ease with which a person becomes a "them" in the woods" (138). How can perspective change even quicker outdoors?

* What does she mean by "every day I eat the mountains, and the mountains, they eat me" (139)? Does she have a similar transformative experience as Strayed?

* Why does she say that for people of color, "the wilderness is everywhere they look" (140)? 

* Finally, who does the "wilderness" belong to? A  people ? A nation? A belief system? Can anyone own the mountains and the forests? 

For Tuesday: Strayed, Wild, Part Five (Chs. 15, 16 & 17)

Feel free to finish the book for Tuesday, but I'll only ask you to read the next three chapters for Tuesday's quiz and discussion. We'll technically finish the book for Thursday--see the revised schedule two posts down in case you haven't noticed it. Also, don't forget the Conversation Paper #2 assignment, which I assigned last Tuesday (it's one post down).

Some ideas to consider...

* Do you think her experiences in Ashland represent a "relapse" in her journey of self-discovery? Consider she asks herself, "I was different. Wasn't I?"

* Why is she so anxious to hook up with a guy that she takes pains to show us isn't very articulate or interesting beyond his looks? For someone so introspective, isn't this an odd choice? Or is that the point?

* Why does she feel she is "betraying" the PCT by being so far away from it?

* She says in Chapter 15 that she wants to forgive herself even though she doesn't necessarily regret what she's done: "if I could go back in time I wouldn't do anything differently than I had done" (258). Can you ask for forgiveness without regretting or repenting your previous misdeeds? Why might she think so?

*Why does she make a list of all her mother's mistakes in Chapter 16? What kind of mistakes are they? Does she seem sympathetic about them--or judgmental?

* Why does she literally eat her mother in Chapter 16? Do you think this is a moment of acceptance or rejection? Or confusion?

* She doesn't know what to expect at Crater Lake, though her guidebook tells her to expect something awe-inspiring. Does she find it? What happens to her there?

* She says earlier that the trail gives you thinks when you're not expecting them--"trail magic." What kind of trail magic does she experience in these chapters? 

Conversation Paper #2--the Last One!

Conversation Paper #2: The Call of the Wild

“It had only to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles for no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains and deserts, streams and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets. The experience was powerful and fundamental” (Strayed 207).

INTRO: Both Wild and the film Into the Wild are about twenty-somethings feeling lost in adulthood. Even though both are college-educated and have plenty of opportunity in the ‘real world,’ each one rejects it in favor of an experience in the “wild.” Interestingly, each one also rejects family, money, and advice taking only what they can carry on their backs, as well as books (they’re both big readers). So the question is, why did they feel the Wild could solve the problems that community and society couldn’t? And is this a universal problem with people their (and your) age?

PROMPT: For your Second Conversation Paper, I want you to answer the question, “what is society not providing to young adults—why are they seeking fulfillment ‘out there’ rather than ‘in here’? Why are so many people deciding to reject college and careers and traditional roles in search of something more “real” and “meaningful”? In other words, what are we doing wrong as a society? How are we leaving young adults out in the cold and not answering the most vital questions they have as human beings? How do you feel about this: do you feel the same way? Or do you think they’re both missing the bigger picture? Do you feel tempted to heed the call of the wild, too?

REQUIREMENTS:

• Use Wild and the film Into the Wild to respond to: show that your conversation comes from both works and quote from Strayed especially to explain where she—and many people your age—are coming from in their journey.
• Find AT LEAST TWO outside sources that also talk about some aspect of this conversation: they could be interviews with Strayed, articles about McCandless, articles about people on the PCT, or about college/job prospects, etc. Anything that you feel helps you discuss this and gives you new perspectives.
• NAYSAYER: Someone who disagrees with you or shows you another way of considering the subject. If you agree with Strayed/McCandless, who doesn’t? If you think they’re nuts, who doesn’t? Remember, you can even use Strayed to act as a Naysayer (she often does).
• No set page limit: it’s up to you to think how long this needs to be, and what you need to say.
• Due Tuesday, November 19^th by 5pm [no class that day]

Revised Course Schedule for last Four Weeks!

T 5       Strayed, Wild, Part Four

R 7       Writing Workshop #6

T 12     Strayed, Wild, Part Five, Chapters 15-17

R 14     Strayed, Wild, Part Five, Chapters 18-19

T 19     Conversation Paper #2 due by 5pm [no class]

R 21     Haile, "We Go It Alone" (from Best American Travel Writing 2018)

T 26     Writing Workshop #6

R 28     Thanksgiving Break

DECEMBER

T 3       Dead Week--no class!

R 5       Dead Week--no class! 

Final Exam (Short Paper #3) due TBA

For Tuesday: Strayed, Wild (Part Four)

Be sure to read Part Four, Chapters 11-14 for Tuesday's class. We only have one more part, and 5 more chapters! Catch up if you're behind, since the book will be important for your Conversation Paper #2 (which I'll assign on Tuesday). 

Here are some questions to consider about Chapters 11-14:

* Why is the final chapter called "Wild," which is also (coincidentally?) the name of the book? Hmm...

* What does she mean by the phrase/metaphor, "Grief doesn't have a face" (212)?

* Why does she return to the opening pages of the book in Chapter 13? OR, perhaps a better question is, why does she start the book with events in Chapter 13, and not return to tell this story for 13 chapters? 

* What does she mean by the phrase, "The universe, I'd learned, was never, ever kidding" (209).

* What is the significance of the title of Chapter 13, "The Accumulation of Trees"?

* How does she grow on the trail in general? After six weeks of traveling, what does she now see, feel, or experience differently?

* Why does she object so strongly when the interviewer for Hobo Times refers to her as a "hobo" in Chapter 11? Is he right to persist in calling her one?

No Class Thursday (Sick); Read Part Four for Tuesday

Sadly, I have to miss class on Thursday since I'm a bit sick, but we'll be back on Tuesday to discuss Part Four, Chapters 10-14, with a quiz to follow. I'll post some questions here to consider when I feel more up to it this weekend. 

REMEMBER that papers are still due today by 5pm! E-mail me with any questions or concerns. Bring them to my door if you can, since I'll try to get to the office around 4 or 5 to check. 

Thanks! 

For Tuesday: Strayed, Wild, Chs.8-10

Read Part Three, Chapters 8-10, for Tuesday's class. We'll have a quiz as usual when you arrive, based on at least one of the questions below. Also, remember that the Short Paper #2 assignment is due next Thursday--the assignment is in the post below this one.

* How are the chapters of each title a metaphor for the story/events that follow? Particularly a strange one like "Corvidology?" 

* Why does she call "Mom! Mom!" when she sees the fox in Chapter 9? Does she seem to understand herself?

* Look for good metaphors in these chapters! For example, what does she mean by, "These mountains didn't count the days" (143)?

* How does Strayed's history with her father somewhat resemble (in a darker way) McCandless' story? Why is it also another piece in the puzzle of her quest to walk the PCT?

* Why does she want to be with Greg even though she admits she's not attracted to him? How might this relate to her "Band-Aid" metaphor from Part Two?

* Strayed writes that walking on the PCT "was the opposite of using heroin," because "the wilderness had a clarity that included me" (143). What do you think she means by this?

* One of the most disturbing (and memorable) scenes in the book occurs in Chapter 10 with her mother's horse, Lady. Why do you think she includes this scene? How does it underline some of the big themes of the book?

Short Paper #2 assignment--due Thursday, October 31st

Short Paper #2: A Mountain Isn’t a Mountain

“I realized I didn’t understand what a mountain was…they were, I now realized, layered and complex, inexplicable and analogous to nothing” (63).

PROMPT: For your second short paper assignment, I want you to write about an experience when you confronted something that was larger, more complex, and “analogous to nothing” you had ever experienced. It doesn’t have to be something big, like walking the PCT, but it should be something that turned out to be complex and challenging in ways you didn’t expect. Why was this? Why weren’t you as prepared as you thought? What about it surprised you? How was it an experience that even though you were told about it, or had even seen it from a distance, you simply had to confront to understand? Describe the experience as if you’re going through it for the first time: tell us what you saw and what it felt like, assuming we’ve never seen or felt it, either.

TO CONSIDER: Remember, this doesn’t have to be a ‘win’ for you: you could have failed or quit the experience. It might be a job that you realized just wasn’t for you. Or a relationship, a class, or a move to a new town or city. But even when you throw in the towel, the experience can still stay with you. What did it help you see or understand? How did it shape some aspect, large or small, of your outlook? Would you ever do it again (if you quit), and why has it become an important part of your life (if you didn’t)? If you continue to do it, what did you not understand until you actually ‘got on the trail’ and ‘hiked’ it?

THE BOOK: Strayed’s Wild introduced this conversation, so make sure you’re responding to it. Use a passage or two from the book to help you discuss your own experience, seeing things in terms of her own experience. Try to see how you’re both on the same metaphorical journey, walking the same ‘mountain.’ However, DON’T use the quote above on page 63, but find your own connections and ideas. There’s a lot to draw from in the book!

REQUIREMENTS:

• At least 3 pages, double spaced
• Describe and explain the experience: don’t assume we know
• Quote from the book, and make meaningful connections
• Due next Thursday, October 31st by 5pm

For Tuesday: Strayed, Wild, Part Two: Chs.4-7

Be sure to read Part Two for Tuesday's class (I'm including Ch.4 here as well, even though I told you to read it for last time). We'll have another quiz when you get to class, so consider some of the following ideas:

* What is the significance of her last name? Where did it come from, and why does she say "I looked it up in the dictionary and knew it was mine" (96).

* Why does she worry that the lawyer will think they're getting divorced for the wrong reasons? Why does she want to get divorced? Or does she?

* She calls the hike the "hardest thing I'd ever done," even though she recently lost her mother and suffered a divorce. What makes this harder, and why does it make "the other hardest things the the tiniest bit less hard" (95)?

* What does she learn from the other hikers she encounters on the trail? What basic information has she neglected? Could some of this information have saved her life?

* What does she learn is the most unexpected hardship of the trail? What could no amount of training or reading have truly prepared her for?

* What prevents her from quitting the trail when she finally convinces herself to catch the first bus to Alaska?

* What does the experience with the bull teach her about the PCT and about life itself?

For Tuesday: Strayed, Wild, Chs. 1-4

The author during her trek on the PCT

NOTE: Read as close to the end of Chapter 4 as you can by Tuesday. If you don't completely get there, no problem, but get close, since our quiz on Tuesday will expect you to have read at least 3/4 of this. Here are some questions to consider as you read, one of which will make an appearance on the quiz:

* How is Cheryl a bit like Christopher McCandless in Into the Wild? What problems and personality straits do both of them share? What might both be driven to explore the "wild"?

* Related to the above, what does the PCT represent for her? How is it like her "Alaska"?

* What are the "Ten thousand things"? What does this say about her relationship with her mother, and why she had so much trouble processing her death?

* Throughout these chapters, she throws herself into shallow affairs and eventually, drug addiction, almost as a way of punishing herself. Yet she says that "this is how "it must feel to people who cut themselves on purpose. Not pretty, but clean" (36). How is this kind of self-mutilation "clean"? 

* Why does she have vivid dreams--which she calls the "documentary films of her subconscious"--of killing her mother in various horrible ways? 

* Is she prepared for her journey on the PCT either physically or mentally? How is she a little like McCandless when he first sets out "into the wild" in Alaska?

Conference Schedule for This Week

REMEMBER: no class this week, but you do have to come to your scheduled conferences. It's easy and painless; just come to my office for a 5-10 minute conference about your paper, so I can help you see what works and what you might need to work on for future assignments (or to revise this one). BRING YOUR INTO THE WILD QUESTIONS WITH YOU! Otherwise, you won't get credit for them. If you need to change your conference time, no problem--just let me know as soon as possible. 

If you missed class last Thursday, let me know which of the open times you can attend. If you just show up, I might not have your paper with me, so please tell me in advance.

TUESDAY
9:30 Holly
9:40 Eva
9:50 William
10:00 Chandler
10:10 Bryce
10:20 Sofia
10:30 Cece
10:40 Jorden
10:50 Bo

11:00 Megan
11:10 Brayden
11:20 Maddie C.
11:30 Jarod
11:40 Kensie
11:50 Hailey P.
12:00 Jagger
12:10 Gavin
12:20 Felicia
12:30 Shelby

WEDNESDAY
1:00 Payton
1:10 Preston
1:20 OPEN
1:30 Conner
1:40 OPEN
1:50 OPEN
2:00 OPEN
2:10 Chandler B.
2:20-3:00: OPEN 

THURSDAY
9:30 Trenton
9:40 Zully
9:50-10:10 OPEN
10:20 Cora
10:30 Haley L.
10:40 Megan
10:50 Matthew

11:00 Alexis
11:10 Addison
11:20 Garren
11:30 Brandon
11:40 Rylan
11:50 Jadon
12:00 Willow
12:10 Maddie L.
12:20 Kaleigh
12:30 Alayna

1:00 Emily
1:10-3:00 OPEN 

For Thursday: Into the Wild (see below)

This week, we're watching the film Into the Wild (2007) as an introduction to our next book, Cheryl Strayed's book, Wild (not on the same subject--but a similar theme). I'll hand out questions on Thursday's class to be turned in during our conferences next week.

We'll sign up for individual conferences on Thursday as well, so try not to miss. You must attend an individual conference to be 'present' for class next week; otherwise, you'll get two absences and you'll have to wait even longer to get your paper back. 

REMEMBER that papers are due by 5pm today (Tuesday)! You can turn it in late, but you lose ten points a day for a maximum of two days. After that, you get a zero. So be careful! 

For Tuesday: Heller, "The Digital Republic" (pp.143-162)

Be sure to read "The Digital Republic" for Tuesday's class. We'll have a quiz, but it will be a slightly different quiz--no short answer questions, but just one longer essay question (since too many people are spending all their time looking up the short answers, and then offering a quick, vague response to the essay question--which is the most important part!). 

Some ideas you might consider:

* How might this article offer a naysayer response to the idea in our last essay of "the internet of things"? Do they want everything to be connected? Is that a utopia for most Estonians? 

* As one Estonian says in the article, "in today's world, everything will be public at some point" (161). Why should all information be increasingly public--and how will this help protect countries like Estonia in the long run?

* Why do many Estonians feel that "it is possible to imagine a future in which nationality is determined not so much by where you live as by what you log on to" (158)? Why is that an important goal? How is it somewhat utopian in their eyes?

* How does this essay address the naysayers, particularly those who might say, "if you're a citizen of the world, you're a citizen of nowhere"?

* Why is Estonia (a nation most people have never even heard of) so far in advance of this kind of technology and thinking? What makes them uniquely qualified (or inspired) to develop it?

* Why is internet citizenship in Estonia relatively popular around the world? What is the advantage that some people see in this unorthodox approach to business? 

* Why does this essay argue that to change the world, you have to change how you think about society? 

Conversation Paper #1 due Tuesday, October 1st by 5pm

Conversation Paper #1: Traveling to Utopia

One of the advantages of reading about other cultures is the sense of being an outsider looking into a completely strange and mysterious world: in some ways, it’s like peering into the future. This is especially true when the societies are trying to transform cutting-edge ideas into new ways of thinking and being. In the essays we read for class, Japan, Korea, and Estonia are all chasing perfection in their own way. The question is, should we follow their example? Are they leading us to a brave new world…or an apocalyptic nightmare?

Choose one of the topics below and discuss why, to you, it comes closest to creating a modern-day utopia. OR, write a paper where you discuss why one of the following is recipe for a dystopia in the making:

• A world where everything is viewed as art, and expensive quality is better than affordable quantity: “Biting into one sliver of the fruit, I had the sense I was tasting in color for the first time” (37).
• A world where technology can erase our human weaknesses and make us better versions of ourselves: “The automation of society seems to feed directly into the longing for perfection; a machine will simply do things better and more efficiently, whether scanning your license plate or annihilating you at a Go tournament” (262).
• A world where everyone is part of a global community, without borders, states, or nations: “nationality is determined not so much by where you live as what you log onto” (158).

The GOAL of this assignment is to have a conversation about what could solve our  society’s problems—or potentially make them worse. Choose only ONE of the topics above and explore it through other writers’ ideas and concerns, responding to them with your own insights or observations we made in class. Make sure to include a NAYSAYER response from other sources (see below).

SOURCES: You must have at least FOUR sources for this paper: TWO must be essays from class (feel free to use one of the quotes I provided), and TWO must be outside articles, books, or websites. We’ll discuss how to do this in class next week. Be sure to QUOTE your sources and integrate them into your paper (don’t simply sprinkle unrelated quotes throughout your paper). Use the sources to help you see more sides of the story, and consider ideas that you may not have considered before. In other words, try to respond to other voices—don’t try to write the entire essay by yourself!

REQUIREMENTS:

• At least 4 pages, double spaced, but you can do more
• At least 4 sources, 2 from our essays, 2 from journals, web, etc.
• Quote sources and integrate them into your essay
• Show a conversation between your ideas and other essays/writers
• DUE Tuesday, October 1^st by 5pm

For Tuesday: Shteyngart, "Thinking Outside the Bots" (pp.259-271)

Consider some of the following for Tuesday's reading and quiz:

* Why did a game of Go cause South Korea to get so interested in AI technology? For them, what did the results of the famous match tell them?

* In South Korea, technology has come to embrace the "internet of things". What is this, and how does it change the reality of South Korean life?

* Why does AI technology offer the promise of perfection--or as someone says in a commercial, "Why should I live like this, being less than perfect?" Do you think this perfection is achievable--or just an illusion?

* According to the author, why do countries like South Korea take so readily to technological innovation? Why don't they mind "Big Brother" in the same way Americans might?

* What are the dangers of perfecting AI technology? Why might a too-intelligent robot be just as dangerous as a completely 'stupid' one?

* One of the scientists in the article predicts in the future, "Everything will be roboticized." Do you feel this author is excited about this prospect? Are we?

* What does he mean by the quote, "The future is already here. It's just not very evenly distributed"? Why is this especially true in South Korea? 

* Why is the image at the end of the essay significant: the woman recording her prayers at the Zen Rock with an I-phone?  

Bosker, "Why Should a Melon Cost as Much as a Car?" (pp.37-42)

Be sure to read this short essay for Thursday, with the normal quiz to follow. Use the questions below as a rough reading guide:

* What is "hashiri," and why is it so historically important to the Japanese?

* What customs do the Japanese have that make fruit such an important commodity? Do we have anything like this in the US (with something other than fruit)?

* One of the people Bosker interviews, Monozumi, claims that "people in Japan are simply more concerned than foreigners with quality" (39). Do you think this is true? Are Americans more interested in cost than quality? 

* How can fruit be like a fine wine? What makes fruit growing an "art"?

* The author says that eating the gourmet strawberry was like "tasting in color for the first time" (37). What do you think she meant by this? Do we often have the opportunity to taste in color here?

* The author writes at the end of the essay that "something that initially seemed nonsensical, even trivial, had altered my definition of beauty" (42). What does she mean by this, and how did a simple melon do this? 

For Thursday: Houston, "Some Kind of Calling" (pp.163-171)

Remember that we'll  have the usual quiz over this essay, with one of the following questions as your short essay response. 

Reading Questions:

* What made her take a gamble on a property in a place she had never seen before that was way outside her price range? Was it something she saw, or was it simply a gamble?

* Related to the above, what made them want to sell it to her? Why her, specifically, a writer without a stable source of income?

* According to this essay, how does age change the way you look at the world? What does she see now in the property that she didn't as a thirty year-old?

* What does she mean when she writes, "age...gently dispels all of our heroic notions" (168)? What "heroic notions" did she have, and what was wrong or misguided about them?

* How did the property allow her to be "still" after a lifetime of roaming? How can a place teach you to do anything, esp. something that you're not used to doing or thinking?

* At the end of the essay, she writes, "How do we become who we are in the world? We ask the world to teach us. But we have to ask with an open heart, with no idea what the answer might be" (171). How do you think you can "ask the world" what to do with your life? And how do you hear the answer? 

Short Paper #1: The Power of Place due NEXT Tuesday

“One of the gifts of age, though, is the way it gently dispels all of our heroic notions. The whole time that I thought I was busy taking care of the ranch, the ranch was busy taking care of me” (Houston 168).

For your first Short Paper, I want you to write about a PLACE that shaped who you are today. Not a person or an activity (though you might reference both), but primarily a place where you started to become who you are today. It could be anything from a school, a church, a field, a car, a job, a room, or just an area of land. Just like Houston does in her essay, I want you to consider how a place can “take care of you,” and be an active agent in influencing your attitude, ideas, and personality.

Though a short paper, I want you to have roughly three parts in this essay: (a) a literal description of the place, the way an outsider would see it—what would I see, for example, the first time I walked into the place? (b) a significant experience that was instrumental in changing your relationship with this place, (c) what you feel you most learned or took away from this place. In other words, what do you most ‘see’ when you think of the place today?

NOTE: You can re-arrange the order of the essay, starting with c, then going to a, then b, if you like. Just make sure your essay has all three parts, even if you spend most of the time on b, for example.

THINGS TO CONSIDER / REQUIREMENTS

• Describe the area using specific details, and don’t just tell us how it looks. What smells or sounds accompany the place in your memory?
• Try to experience the place as an outsider, so you can see things you no longer notice. Then help us see what only you see when you go there.
• Talk about yourself—don’t make this a third-person paper. Otherwise, we won’t understand it.
• Quote from at least ONE of the essays in class to make a comparison between your space and theirs. Even though your work might not be as exciting or interesting as Mt. Rushmore, you can use Anderson’s ideas to help your own.
• Use the Quotation Sandwich when citing sources: INTRODUCE SOURCE + QUOTE & CITATION + RESPONSE. (we’ll discuss this in class)
• At least 3 pages long, though you can do more…

PAPER IS DUE IN-CLASS ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10^th. Any papers after class are late and are subject to the late paper policy (see syllabus).