The Strength of Women

Both Gail in Montana 1948 and Vivian in A Lesson Before Dying support their mates.  Compare and contrast their strengths and roles in the novels.  Use at least one quote from each novel to support your claims and based upon what is presented in these novels, decide what the authors are saying about women.  (The deadline to post a response is midnight, Friday, August 8, 2014.)

Education + Novel

Both Montana 1948 and A Lesson Before Dying can be classified as Bildungsroman works.  In a Bildungsroman, the main character proceeds through a journey, physically or metaphorically, that leads to his manhood or a psychological awakening.  Select one of the two summer novels and briefly discuss a moment/scene/passage in which it is clear that the main character is evolving to a new awareness or change.  Explain how this passage made you feel as you were reading it.  (The deadline to post a response is midnight, July 23, 2014.)

Not a simple notebook and pencil...

A great portion of the end on the book is Jefferson's notebook/diary. Grant gave him the notebook so that he could write down his thoughts and feelings; it becomes, however, a chronicle of Jefferson's metamorphosis. Select a passage from the notebook and cite it and then explain how this passage helped you to recognize a change within Jefferson. Also, include how the notebook section made you feel. Please do not use the same quote as the person prior to you.  (The deadline to post a response to this question is midnight, July 19, 2014.)

"He need both of you.."

A great deal of A Lesson Before Dying focuses upon Grant's internal conflict with religion and his external conflict with Reverend Mose Ambrose.  Select a passage/scene(cite it) that reflects this struggle (it does not have to be directly with the Rev.; it can be about Grant and religion alone) and explain its significance in the scope of the novel and explain how Gaines uses this conflict to develop Grant. Also, indicate which side wins in this passage and how so. You may not give the same scene/passage as the person before you gives and you must comment on the responses before yours. (The deadline to post a response to this blog question is midnight, July 14, 2014.)  Please vote in the poll at the right.  Thanks!

"He gonna walk..."

Upon leaving Pichot's house after discussing Jefferson's impending execution, Grant says to Reverend Ambrose, "I'm going for a walk, a long walk in the opposite direction" [p.159]. Where does this walk take him, literally and symbolically? ( The deadline to post a response to this question is midnight, July 10, 2014.)

W*O*R*D*S

Below is a poem entitled Incident; it was written by Countee Cullen, one of America's best African American poets. Read the poem and then respond to the question below  
 Incident by Countee Cullen

Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.

Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, "Nigger."

I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.

In A Lesson Before Dying, the first 4 chapters focus on the power of just one word as this poem does. Using only the first 4 chapters of the novel to support your claims, explain the power of the one word in the novel and how it is used as a catalyst for this novel. Who do you think is most affected by the word? Why? Give a quote to support your claim .  Your quote must be from Chapters 1-4.  (The deadline to post a response to this question is midnight July 5,2014.)

and in the end, what remains...

The last lines of  Montana  1948 are "Later that night, after everyone was in bed, I came back down to the dining room.  I sat in the chair where my father had sat and lightly put my hands on the table.  For an instant I thought I felt the wood still vibrating from my father's blow."  This passage clearly shows one theme of the novel--the events of the past haunt us.  However, this is not the only theme in the novel.  What do you people is a key theme of the book and give us a passage that lead you to believe this?   Please make sure to comment on what previous posters have said.  If you are the first to comment on this blog, reply to my introduction here.  (The deadline to post a response is midnight, June 27, 2014.  Blogs on A Lesson Before Dying will begin July 1st.  The first blog will cover Chapters 1-12.)