Paper #2 assignment: Reading the Self (due Next Thursday, October 31st in class!)

NOTE: Remember to finish Coraline for Thursday's class! No questions, but we'll have an in-class writing over it. The Paper #2 assignment I gave out in class is below. 

Intro to Lit/Teaching Lit

Paper #2: Reading the Self

“Literature has not only made identity a theme; it has played a significant role in the construction of the identity of readers…we become who we are by identifying with figures we read about” (Culler, Ch.8).

NOTE: There are TWO options for this short assignment, which we will share in class next Thursday, October 31^st. For each option, you must use Culler, Chapters 6 “Narrative” and/or Chapter 8 “Identity, Identification, and the Subject” to help frame your discussion or to give you new perspectives on the works in question. We’ll discuss Chapter 8 at length on Tuesday.

OP1: Write a short Reading Autobiography about the 3-4 works that most shaped your ‘reading’ identity as a child. I define “child” as anything before you hit your teenage years (so 12 and under). Reflect on why these works stayed with you, even if you haven’t read them since, and how they might have shaped your views, preferences, reading habits, and overall aesthetic. Some of these should be books, but you can slip in a film, show, or even a song since all of these are texts to be ‘read’ and digested by a young person looking to construct their sense of self. You might discuss how you were introduced to these works (or how you found them), and what you most recall about each one, even if you seem them differently today (i.e. you don’t have to like them anymore).

OP2: A friend has a pre-teen child who has fallen in love with books after reading Coraline. They want to know what else the child should read to extend this love of reading to other books with similar themes, characters, or storytelling. Compile a list of 3-4 works (for the parent) geared towards children/Young Adults that you feel would complement Coraline even if they’re not works of horror per se. Explain what all these works have in common, and how each one relates to some aspect of Coraline in a way the child might understand and appreciate. Keep in mind the role of identity/identification in these books: why might they be healthy for the child to experience at this age, as they are still actively forming their sense of self? What would these books teach them or allow them to see or experience? And how might these books have helped you?

REMEMBER:

• 3-4 works for each one, though in OP2, all 3-4 must be books; you can define it more loosely for OP1.
• You can use earlier chapters of Culler, but quote at least once from Chapter 6 or Chapter 8. Try to use quotes that actually help you see/discuss some aspect of your paper, rather than an obligatory quote that is just taking up space or only says what you could have said yourself.
• Page limit optional, but try to do justice to the works and the prompt. Don’t just give a short list and say “I really liked this book”; try to explain why you liked it and/or why you think it shaped you or would shape someone else. Look at it from both a childhood and an adult perspective.