READING A DOLL’S HOUSE IN TEHRAN assignment

100 points. Major assignments & papers
due: Monday, class time

In “Part II: Gatsby” in READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN, Nafisi puts Gatsby on trial in her class. In past years teaching Ibsen’s A DOLL’S HOUSE, I have had my students put Nora on trial for her decision at the end of the play. This year, I’m synthesizing some of my previous assignments.

Objective: You are to write a chapter as if you were Azar Nafisi and have decided to put Nora on trial instead of Gatsby. You will be graded on your ability to

• successfully capture the tone and style of Nafisi[1]
• accurately portray characters from Nafisi’s memoir by how they could be expected to react to Nora (or any other characters from A Doll’s House.)
• present an insightful & sophisticated character analysis of Nora from A Doll’s House
  50 points: all areas demonstrate an exceptional level of mastery
  45 points: all but one are demonstrates an exceptional level of mastery
  40 points: one of the areas demonstrates an exceptional level of mastery
  35 points: all areas show good quality and effort; demonstrates progression towards mastery. Papers with mistakes in grammar and mechanics (which do not interfere with meaning) can not be scored higher than 35.
  30 points: demonstrates some progression towards mastery. Papers with mistakes in grammar and mechanics (which interfere with meaning) can not be scored higher than 30.
  Less than 30 points: demonstrates a lack of understanding or effort with assignment.

If you quote anything directly from Nafisi, please italicize. Use Times New Roman, 12pt font, double-spaced, 2-3 pages. If you do not follow these format guidelines, I will not accept paper.

Your meta will be in a different format this time, though still graded on the APE rubric.

You are to use the ‘comment function’ on Word to highlight what you are doing with the choices you are making, instead in an essay form.

[1] (which includes, but is not limited to: how author presents dialogue, appropriate word choice, symbols, punctuation tendencies, etc.)

STYLE ASSIGNMENT: HEMMINGWAY VS. FAULKNER.

All assignments should be two pages typed, 1.5 spaced. You can go longer if you need, but I’m more concerned about style than you “finishing” some sort of plot—though feel free to.

Make sure you have a title.

100 points total.

• Choose a short story and “rewrite” it in the style of either Faulkner or Hemingway—if the story is “too long”, you can even just rewrite a part of it.
• Write a story in the style of either Faulkner or Hemingway based on a myth.
• Write a dialogue / or even a short story using only lines from both Faulkner and Hemingway. (Each line will need to be cited.) You will obviously be able to capture the “writing style” with this one, so you will be mostly graded on your ability to present a coherent conversation.

50 points:
• Completely matches the style of either Hemingway or Faulkner: syntax of sentences, diction, pacing, and conventions.
• Is free of unintentional spelling, typographical, and grammatical errors—this should be “publishable.”
• Completely achieves objective of prompt.
45 points:
• Matches the style of either Hemingway or Faulkner: syntax of sentences, diction, pacing, and conventions.
• Is free of unintentional spelling, typographical, and grammatical errors—this should be “publishable.
• Achieves objective of prompt.
40 points:
• Completely achieves 2 of the 3 items above.
35 points
• Mostly achieves 2 of the 3 items above.
30 points
• Is successful with one of the items above.


All papers are to be accompanied by a meta-cognitive piece (see handout), stapled to the back. This is also worth 50 points and should provide enough depth for me to see your understanding (again, refer to questions on handout.)

I will read this only after I grade the first part.

Print this rubric and place between your paper and meta-cognitive.

Setting Essay

here it is:

In a well-reasoned essay, explain how the setting is inextricably linked to the theme in Fay Weldon's "IND AFF".

Good luck. See you tomorrow.

Essay #2 – Characterization

In case you need it, here's the assignment:

Your job here is to write a short (2-3 pages typed 1.5 space) assertive essay in which you explain how the author develops characterization to create meaning and support his/her purpose in one of the two short stories that you read, “The Red Carpet” or “Everyday Use.”

Here’s what you have to do:

1. First, you have to really think about what the story is about. What idea does it communicate? What is the author’s purpose in writing this story?
2. Then, think about how the characterization helps to create that meaning. How does the author use it? Find specific examples in the text that demonstrate this.
3. Your thesis statement must be specific and argumentative. You must come up with an idea of HOW it is used and WHAT it is being used for. What is the effect of the particular approaches to characterization the author has chosen?
4. Draft some ideas. It’s not a five paragraph essay per se, but it should have an introduction with thesis, supporting body paragraphs and a conclusion.
5. Leave your ideas alone for a while. Then go back, revaluate them, and rewrite.

Try not to spend more than 2 hours on the actual writing. You can spend as much time as you want on the thinking!