Joy Williams’ Woods from TAKING CARE:
Paper instructions:
1. Describe the overall atmosphere in “Woods.” How does Williams create that atmosphere? Use several examples from the text to support your claim.
2. Find two passages from “Woods” in which Williams uses a lot of SPECIFIC DESCRIPTIVE DETAIL. What is she describing, and why does this passage stand out to you as particularly detailed and specific?
Answer the questions by short answers
Study Questions: “Z.Z.’s Sleep-Away Camp for Disordered Dreamers”
This is a zany story full of stylistic acrobats and delicious, muscular turns of phrase. Since your first major writing assignment this quarter (the Close Reading/Style Imitation) is all about analyzing and imitating the writing style of Karen Russell, I thought we’d read a couple more stories by Russell (one more to come after this), and to start compiling and trying to understand the hallmarks of her writing style.
Bring your study question answers and the reading to class on Monday!
1. Russell probably uses some words you’ve never heard before in this story. So on your first reading, make a list of those words and look them up as you go. Include your list here.
2. How often does Russell use figurative language (similes, metaphors, descriptive imagery of any kind) in her writing? Describe her writing style in your own words, and from your own point of view, using 3-5 specific adjectives to show what you mean. How would you describe her writing style? Be original.
3. Examine the following passage:
“The forest at night is full of friendly menace. It blurs and ashes all around us, a dark dream of itself. Rain runs down the skinned black hands of the trees, down the white mushrooms that push their tiny faces from the logs. Frogs jump from the branches like spry blemishes. We flinch beneath the leaf-swung shadows, the winged attack of lunatic moths. The forest gives me all sorts of reasons to reach out and hold Emma’s hand” (Russell).
In this batch of study questions, you’re going to take some first steps toward writing an extended close reading of a passage. To do that, answer the following questions in paragraph form:
- What specific words and descriptions stand out to you most in this passage? Try to find at least one word and/or description from each sentence. Use quotes!
- Why do each of these examples stand out to you? What do they have in common? Start to draw connections between them, and be specific.
Based on the evidence you’ve gathered, what message is Russell sending about the “the forest at night?” Messages might be about the atmosphere, theme, or metaphorical meaning of the “forest at night.” There is no right interpretation of the passage and no wrong message!
HOW did you make this interpretation? Meaning: Which evidence did you use to come to this conclusion, and why?
BONUS. Feeling brave? Answer this question: How is Russell’s description of the forest related to Elijah’s feelings for Emma? Why? Go for it!