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Musical context of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
inspired by Charles Schmidt and Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”
Historical Context of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
main character rebelled through clothing (counter-culture) and concept of pop culture
Mood of “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”
loss, death
Psychoanalytical perspective: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
Connie is self-centered and vain, deep-down she is insecure
Why is Connie insecure (Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been)
She’s always compared to her sister
How does Connie feel about intimacy? (Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been)
She is afraid of it
Evidence of Connie’s fear of intimacy (Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been)
dad doesn’t speak to them, mom is combative, sister and her aren’t close, friends aren’t named, she is isolated
Themes of Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
Dual-identity (seen through Connie and Arnold)
Fantasy vs. Reality
Arnold’s dual-identity (Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been)
Caring Arnold vs. Angry Arnold
Young Arnold vs. Old Arnold
What commentary does Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been make?
the sexual revolution in 60s
Why does Joyce Carol Oates not like the sexual revolution?
she feels it can be too much for young people
33, 19, 17 meaning (Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been)
33=Arnold’s age, 17-19=age of his victims
Devil’s marked number
Why does Connie leave with Arnold? (Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been)
insecure and low self-esteem
Themes of Everyday Use
heritage, education, family, race (identity)
Setting of Everyday Use
Maggie and Mom’s home, yard, rural farm area
What does the family living on a farm signal? (Everyday Use)
sharecropping
What does the family see the yard as? (Everyday Use)
their second living room
What does Mama dream about in the beginning of the story? (Everyday Use)
Being a white, skinny and quick-wittedmother in a happy family on the Carson Show
How does Mama compare to the version of herself in her dream? (Everyday Use)
Black, big-boned, “built to work” (rooted in slavery), feels oppressed and stupid
Dee vs. Wangero (Everyday Use)
Dee is her “oppressor” name and Wangero is her “traditional” name
Mama’s reaction to Wangero’s new name (Everyday Use)
she is confused because she feels like her (Mama’s) experience has been devalued
Quilts significance (Everyday Use)
community, strength, communication between enslaved people
Why is Wangero condescending? (Everyday Use)
She feels like she is better than her family due to her education
Quilts symbol (Everyday Use)
different views of heritage- Wangero sees the quilt as historical/art
Mama sees quilt as family/personal
What is Everyday Use both a critique and support of?
black nationalism
Main events of Everyday Use
Wangero comes home with her fiance/boyfriend, Hakim-a-barber, who greet Mama in Arabic
Wangero asks to take churn top, dasher and quilts
Mama refuses because the quilt is for Maggie
Wangero angrily storms out because she believes Maggie does not value the quilt
Mama realizes Wangero is selfish
Why do Wangero and Hakim-a-barber greet the family in Arabic? (Everyday Use)
they joined Islam to get in touch with their African roots
What does Recitatif mean?
mode in opera where they sing the dialogue
Main characters of Recitatif
Twyla, Roberta, Maggie
Why did Mama and Maggie move? (Everyday Use)
Their house burned down leaving Maggie scarred from burning
Why is Twyla at the orphanage? (Recitatif)
Her mother wanted to “dance all night”
Why is Roberta at the orphanage? (Recitatif)
Her mother is sick
Why were Twyla and Roberta ostracized from the orphanage?
Their parents weren't dead
Purpose of Recitatif
Friendship despite race, show readers racial biases
Why does Toni Morrison intentionally leave out race? (Recitatif)
to show reader’s own racial baises
Why Recitatif is post-modernism
Challenges stereotyping (metanarrative)
Twyla and Roberta not like the other girls (rejection of the other)
Rejecting trad. ideas of what is right using Maggie as a device (rejecting metanarrative)
Timeline of Recitatif
St. Bonny’s (8 y/o, mid ‘50s), Howard Johnsons (20 y/o, 1967-68), Groceries/Coffee (30 y/o, late ‘70s-’80s), Protests (30s, 1970-80), Diner (40s, mid 80s)
Important events at St. Bonny’s (Recitatif)
Maggie falls
Mothers meet & don’t get along
Important events at Howard Johnson’s (Recitatif)
Roberta sneers at Twyla
Ends when they ask about each other’s moms
Important events at Grocery/Coffee (Recitatif)
Robert is a yuppie
Gentrification
Ask about moms again
Important events at Protests (Recitatif)
Protesting about bussing
Roberta telling Twyla she kicked Maggie
Important event at Diner (Recitatif)
Roberta admits she misremembers
Both admit they wanted to beat Maggie
Why did Roberta and Twyla want to beat Maggie? (Recitatif)
They felt powerless
Themes of Recitatif
memory, friendship, mothers, class, raceWh
When do the women bond over their mother’s? (Recitatif)
St. Bonny’s and DinerW
When do the women hurt each other with their mother’s? (Recitatif)
Howard Johnsons and Coffee
What culture are Ayah and Chato a part of? (Lullaby)
Native American, specifically Navajo
How does Lullaby start?
Ayah is looking for Chato; they’re old
Why is Ayah’s life so tragic? (Lullaby)
She lost all her children
What is the first memory in Lullaby?
Jimmie dies in the war which Ayah is angry about because it is the white man’s war; she gets Jimmie’s blanket
Ayah’s childhood (Lullaby)
her job was to clean cotton for the traditional blankets
Navajo Traditional Blanket symbolism (Lullaby)
protection
Main symbol in Lullaby
blanket
What is Ayah’s ideal of Navajo tradition?
She only speaks Navajo while her husband and kids spoke English
She sees land as sacred
Matriarchal (mother is earth)
Why does Ayah begin to resent Chato?
He taught her how to sign her name which is why they lost the kids
Which children got taken away? (Lullaby)
Danny and Ella
What does Ayah do at the end of Lullaby
sings for Chato as he dies making her change her role from wife to mother
What does Chato do with their welfare money? (Lullaby)
blows it on alcohol
Main themes of Lullaby
Earth is mother
Having no culture severs you from Earth
What does Ayah see her predominate identity as?
A Navajo mother
Why is Lullaby postmodernist?
Rejects metanarratives: white assimilation, war
Other theme of Lullaby
loss
Why is Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club criticized?
Critics say it paints Chinese culture in a negative light and is orientalist
What story that we’ve read is a chapter in the Joy Luck Club?
Two Kinds
What is the narrator reflecting on in Two Kinds?
Her mothers belief in the American Dream
What 3 prodigal children were pushed on Jing-Mei? (Two Kinds)
Shirley Temple
Prodigal kids in magazines
Prodigal child playing piano on the Sullivan Show
What does Jing-Mei believe her true talent is? (Two Kinds)
Rage/anger
What does Jing-Mei tell her mother during their fight while her mother is trying to get her to go back to piano lessons? (Two Kinds)
She wishes she died just like the dead infant’s her mother gave birth to in China
What do “Pleading Child” and “Perfectly Contended” symbolize? (Two Kinds)
symbolize her life as a child vs. adultWh
What happened to Jing-Mei’s mother prior to Two Kinds?
she lost everything in China
Why is Two Kinds so popular?
Tan wrote to a broader audience, making the story relatable to many
Themes of Two Kinds
Mother and daughters
American Dream
Info on Richard (Separating)
dad, distraught over separation, scared of the past vs. future, wants to tell the kids as a group because he is selfish
Info on Joan (Separating)
mom, is more sensitive to the kids’ emotions, wants to tell the kids separately because she thinks it will be calmer
Why does the Maples family have the dinner?
Celebrating Judith coming home from abroad
Maples family children ages
Judith=19
Richard Jr./Dickie=16-17
John=15
Margaret=13
Why is Richard Jr. not at the dinner?
he’s at a rock concert
What plan do Joan and Richard settle on to tell the kids?
Telling separately
Why is the plan ruined? (Separating)
Richard starts crying at dinner
Judith’s reaction to divorce
practical, says they should either get divorced or stay together
John’s reaction to divorce
Throws a tantrum, more selfish about it
Margaret’s reaction to divorce
calm and relieved
What is one reason Joan and Richard are separating that is subtly mentioned? (Separating)
Richard cheated
What metanarrative does Separating reject?
Women being emotional and men being rational
Major symbol in Separating
tennis court=failing marriage
Major Themes of Separating
Confusion
Self interest
Autobiographical aspect of Separating
Updike also got divorced and had 4 kids
What type of protagonist is Richard?
non-hero
What does Richard Jr. do at the end of Separating that is shocking?
kisses' Richard on the lips
What school of writing is Cathedral representative of?
dirty realism
What is dirty realism?
white, blue collar middle class characters navigating heartbreak, disappointing life circumstances and small revelations
What is the narrator’s outlook on life? (Cathedral)
jealous, pessimistic, purposeless life, confused
Wife and Robert’s relationship (Cathedral)
Send tapes back in forth which is more intimate than a letter
Narrator’s epiphany (Cathedral)
Life isn’t superficial and there is deeper meaning
Major Themes of Cathedral
Looking vs. Seeing
Art as Insight
Looking vs. Seeing Theme Cathedral
Narrator is seeing but has a superficial way of life, he does not truly see things
Robert is blind but he can see the wife’s emotions and the beauty of life
Art as Insight Theme Cathedral
Wife’s poetry, narration/tapes, drawings
Other Theme Cathedral
confusion
Cathedral symbolism (Cathedral)
places of worship → see the deeper meaning of things there
Audiotapes symbolism (Cathedral)
Narrator is blind to his wife but Robert isn’t
Note
Flashcard