Part I: In preparation for reading the novel, The Penelopiad, you were provided with guiding questions to assist you with your analysis. You were also provided with an example of one instructor's back-of-the-book index. Based on what you have read at this time, you need to revisit your notes and use them to help you provide a summary to the following generalized questions:
Which scenes interest you? Confuse you? Why? (personal response)
Which characters do you "like the best"; which do you "like the least"? Why? (personal response/evaluation)
Does the plot seem similar or very different from other narratives you've read or seen (in the case of films or TV) in the past? How? (application)
Was the novel funny? somber? ironical? (tone)
Did you notice certain words or phrases, or particular images, recurring? (analysis)
Did you love this novel? Why? (personal response/evaluation)
Did you hate the novel? Why? (personal response/evaluation)
You don't have to answer every single question-but rather use them, or a subset of them, to construct a coherent response/analysis of the novel.
Part II: Additionally, select one of the following topics/questions that seems most relevant to your understanding of The Penelopiad. In this posting, identify which of the topics you chose and explain why you chose the topic. Referring back to The Penelopiad Reading Questions in Lesson 3
Look for evidence from the text to support why your topic 1 of the 4 below resonates with you. Note: We will not be focusing on answering the topical question, Payback as a Theme, for this posting.
Playing With Literary Form: Epic Form and The Role of Women
Women's Language
Power
Women's Work