This is the title of a novel by Jane Smiley that I have been struggling with for the last week. I have a 3-5 page essay on it due this coming Monday, and I absolutely need an A on this to boost my GPA.
The problem is that I can't think of anything to write about! I've started 3 papers, and even wrote 4 pages of one, before realizing that it just wasn't working.
The pressure is starting to mount, and yet I still have no idea how to approach this novel. I've raed it almost three times now, and yet it still feels so alien; it deals with such complex issues of rape, femininity, courage, truth that I feel lost. Help? ^^
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I saw the movie. Could you write about how all the themes are so alien to you?
Posted by Phanto (Member # 5897) on :
If I wrote about that, I would just be saying something like: This is a hard book, it deals with XYZ, and I don't get what it's saying or what it's message is.
Which doesn't strike me as a good strategy for achieving academic success ^^.
Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
I haven't tried this, but Persig in _Zen and the Art_ had some advice for a composition student who couldn't think of a thing to write about her campus. He said, "OK, just write about the admin building." She still couldn't think of anything. He said, OK, write about _one brick_. That broke her logjam.
Maybe you could pick one character, one relationship, or even one bit of dialog.
Another thing might be that part of you doesn't _want_ to write, becuase you didn't like the book. You could write about how much you hated it, and let it lead you into writing about the book itself. (Then you throw away the part that was about how you hated it.)
Good luck!
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
What I do when in a situation like that is much the same as Will suggested - I pick one of the things that did resonate with me (there has to be at least one thing) and base my entire perception of the book, and therefore my entire paper, off of that. It's worked well so far.
Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
It's been a while since I've read it, so I honestly have nothing to say about characters or details of the storyline, but you do know it's a retelling of a Shakespeare play, don't you? Not knowing your assignment I don't know if that's any help.
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
What's your prompt? Or is it just to write about the book? What type of class is this?