Seminar Tasks: Week 3
All EIGHT exercises are individual tasks. Once you have completed all tasks, discuss your experiences and findings with your group-mates and present keys points from your discussion during the ‘live’ seminar on Tuesday, 6th October.
Exercise 1: Visualisation
Aims of this exercise:
- To sharpen the mental faculties of attention, visualising and imagining.
- To increase awareness of mental and emotional states that may help or hinder academic progress.
- To recognise qualities that may help or hinder academic progress.
• Close your eyes.
• Take a few deep breaths from your gut.
• Bring into your mind’s eye a challenging episode in your life. Do not choose a traumatic event.
• Take note of your sensory experiences: sights, smells, sounds, touch. “See” this memory as vividly as possible.
• Take note of emotions and feelings that are arising: excitement/anxiety/uncertainty/hope etc.
• Now bring to mind how you overcame this challenge. What was necessary for you to overcome it?
Focusing on the present and consciously moving other distractions away.
seeking help from others to keep all of us accountable for our actions.
• Take note of how surviving this challenge affected you. Did you grow? Did you learn more?
I hope to say that I've grown much, but honestly? I feel as if I am still miles away from a compatible version of myself. I have many lessons that I have known from a young age, but I have yet to learn them fully. This nonchalant ignorance and denial is the biggest flaw, I think.
Exercise 2: Character Analysis
Aims of this exercise:
- To recognise pre-existing literary knowledge and to identify knowledge gaps.
- To identify a single trait in several characters to sharpen skills of pattern-recognition.
- To develop analytical skills through a close reading of a literary character.
• Source for characters you have met in novels, short stories and/or poems who are resilient! Take note of the type of books these characters come from. Are these mainly science fiction stories, romance novels, YA novels, classics etc.?
I have a few characters derived from fiction, literary works, and autobiographies.
• If many characters come to mind, great! Make a list of these characters.
D'Artagnan, Kaladin Stormblessed, Kwok Hock Nien, Mahatma Gandhi, Jacob son of Isaac
• Select one character from your list and perform a character analysis of him/her/it. This should be half a page or one page long.
Kaladin Stormblessed was part nobility when he was a child, but was cast off prematurely to fight in the war after a chain of unjust events. The new local mayor in town took a great dislike to him and committed daylight robbery by sabotaging Kaladin's chances to become a surgeon like his father. The mayor sent Kaladin's soft-spoken younger brother as a "volunteer" to a battle squadron famous for using new recruits as meat shields for the ranks. Kaladin then gave up his career and volunteered to care for his little brother, to protect him at the front lines.
As a relatively young man, Kaladin suffered many losses; his home, his parents, his brother, his squad, his friends and his respect. Fortunately, his desire to aid those weaker than him and his unprejudiced sense of honor burns bright, even in the darkest valley. Being branded a slave after he uncovered the corrupt acts of his commander, Kaladin traveled under different masters for years, and was sentenced to eventual death carrying bridges at the frontlines of battles. The immense physical and mental resilience within him is awe-inducing at this point. Although his psyche is fractured (to say the least), he still finds the hope to forge forward, incite hope and tries to protect those around him, even if he knows that they will die right beside him in battle just a few days later. Kaladin suffers from depression and we read a feeling of hopelessness, apathy, discontent and acute guilt inside him. When he felt that he had failed to protect the people he has promised to keep alive, his plunge into depression becomes imminent. At one point, when he laid down a bridge over the canyon, he even had spiraling thoughts about suicide, only snapping out of it and immediately providing medical attention when he hears the sole-surviving bridge-mate wheezing for help. Having lived with these feelings, he often finds ways to overcome them, either through his discipline learned as a surgeon and a soldier or through his responsibilities to others. In the end, his ability to overcome problems became his greatest ally in keeping himself alive against all odds.
• Include in your analysis the conditions that necessitated the emergence of resilience in your character. What were their challenges? Why did they face those challenges? How did they overcome them? What happened to them after they had overcome those challenges?
Exercise 3: Reflective Journaling
Aims of this exercise:
- To increase awareness of your learning process.
- To ascertain any links between you (subject) and text (object), thereby strengthening your connection with the material.
- To increase awareness of methods of textual analysis.
• Take note of what you learned in the visualisation exercise and in the character analysis exercise. What did you discover about the relationship between literature and yourself? What did you discover in your character analysis?
I discovered a great admiration for those who live by their values and maintain the ideal of integrity within themselves. Literature creates a warped world where good prevails, and that environment seeds hope into the minds of readers. The idea is that the reader grabs hold of the spark and kindles it into a flame that gives heat, warming up not only the readers but also those around them. We can start to do this by learning how to emulate model characters in the plotlines. In the character analysis, I dug to the roots of what makes a good character good. By fleshing out the subconscious thoughts within me, I can have a clearer vision of where I should start in my journey to put on the mantle of lessons I have gleaned off from the characters I resonate with .
Exercise 4: Introspection
Aims of this exercise:
- To sharpen the mental faculties of introspection, attention and visualisation.
- To increase awareness of mental and emotional states that may help or hinder academic progress.
• We will use ‘introspection’ for this exercise.
• Bring up a scenario in your mind’s eye where you were faced with a challenge and you were unable to proceed or overcome it. Observe your emotional response and see if you can identify what belief accompanied the response.
I think I became obsessed with throwing up the most basic but useless coping mechanism: denial.
Ostrich-like behaviour is unrealistic, but I still fall back to such nonsense when confronted with hallmark challenges.
• Take note of any other beliefs you may notice, and observe how these are useful or not useful to you.
Exercise 5: Character Analysis
Aims of this exercise:
- To identify an aspect of the human condition (the play & influence of beliefs) in literary characters.
- To identify how elements of fiction (diction/characterisation/dialogue/plot) are used to convey aspects of the human condition (in this case, specifically, the play & influence of beliefs).
• Can you identify the beliefs held by a literary character of your choice? (you can use the same character from the previous exercise, or choose another one from your list)
• How did their belief(s) appear in the context of the story/novel? Did it appear through their words, their actions, their choices, their emotional condition etc.?
"Kaladin naturally exhibits the traits of the Alethi Codes of War. This can be seen when he's a bridgeleader, as he insists that each man wear his vest at all times during their bridge shifts (readiness); when he practices carrying planks of wood to inspire his men (inspiration); when he allows himself to be beaten up by soldiers to avoid further trouble (restraint); when he insists on running at the front during every last bridge run (leadership); and when he risks his life and spends resources to take care of injured bridgemen (honor). As these traits come naturally to him, many people - both lighteyed and dark - have compared him to lighteyes, as it is often assumed lighteyes naturally exhibit such traits as well. Kaladin protests these comparisons, refusing any connection to lighteyes." -stormlightarchivewiki
Exercise 6: Textual Analysis of “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid
Aims of this exercise:
- To interpret the use of language and images in the text to understand the message(s) communicated by the writer.
- To enhance analytical thinking and textual interpretation skills.
• Identify words you do not understand in the text.
benna, dasheen, doukona
• Find out the meanings of these words and identify the cultural context of the text through some of these words.
benna: a genre of calypso music native to Antigua and Barbuda. Benna is a folk music characterized by sexually suggestive lyrics, call-and-response, and local gossip. Historically, native Antiguans sang benna to secretly spread scandalous rumors and gossip under the uncomprehending British people's noses. Singing benna in Sunday school, therefore, represents not only disobedience but also sinful, forbidden knowledge that can't be discussed openly in public, let alone in church.
dasheen: a type of taro plant.
doukona: "Doukona" is a variant of "dokunu" in Jamaica, a kind of pudding made from starchy food which is sweetened, spiced, and traditionally wrapped in plantain...or banana leaf. A favorite black dish, it can be boiled, baked,or roasted
blackbird:
Because objects may conceal spirits, believers in obeah do not trust appearances. This lies behind the mother's warning, “don't throw stones at blackbirds, because it might not be a blackbird at all.” Kincaid's mother and grandmother practiced obeah, and the writer explained in an interview with Selwyn R
• Identify language patterns and the use of certain types of word in the text. (eg. Words and/or sentence constructions that are repeated).
slut. (derogatory) be sure. don’t. this is how to. (very instructional)
• Identify images that create the world of this text. (eg. Words that evoke any of the five senses).
• Piecing the words, language patterns and images together, what do you think the author is saying?
the author is saying that the mother figure has defined who she is as a failed daughter, and is now telling her to right he ways and put on a mask, giving her a set of instructions to keep her from falling further down the path of failure.
Exercise 7: Comparative Textual Analysis of “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid and “Sticks” by George Saunders
Aims of this exercise:
- To find patterns between two literary texts of different socio-cultural backgrounds.
- To recognise differences between texts based on their different socio-cultural backgrounds.
- To develop creative thinking through comparative analysis.
In point form, write down your responses to the following questions:
• What similarities and differences do you notice in both stories? How are they similar/different in terms of themes and socio-cultural backgrounds?
Similarities:
-presence of an authoritative figure
-the passing of oppressive energies from parent to child
-family conflict, the apparent lack of a healthy relationship
-the upholding of certain values to the extreme, to redundancy (from child's pov)
Differences:
-cultural backgrounds
-emphasis on values
-house rules
-class systems
• What are the authors’ messages?
girl
learning both sides of the coin from parents, even if you're not going to absorb those lessons.
The author outlines how females are supposed to embrace their roles as 'women' in a patriarchal society. The Mother figure constantly jabs Girl regarding how her 'careless' public presentation of herself darkens her namesake, and this is contradictory by itself, as her concerns aren't particularly focused on the act of promiscuity, but on the pristine public presentation of her person. The instructions detail the routine tasks of managing a household—tasks which the girl must learn in her transition to womanhood. Kincaid includes these lessons, passed down from mother to daughter, showing the way a girl’s life is predetermined by gender.
sticks
Childhood trauma leaves traces of poison, potent enough to leave lasting scars that never heal.
Oppression, the use and abuse of power are evident in the perceiver, conditioning the receiver.
Teaching, imbuing the children restraint and meanness leaves unwanted scars on them.
Besides the obvious messages that are present in the texts, we can see that parents are still parents, no matter what. Their beliefs have grains of truth in them, so we shouldn't fully ignore and demerit their experiences. We can learn from the thick and thin of their experiences, but we shouldn't set our cornerstones based on their judgements alone.
Exercise 8: Reflective Journaling
Aims of this task:
- To increase awareness of your learning process.
- To identify the relationship between emotional/psychological states and academic performance.
- To identify specific skills you have used and developed.
- To identify methods of textual analysis and comparative textual analysis.
- To trace connections between subject (reader/analyser/you) and object (text/literature/ literary characters) to generate more engagement with literary material.
• How did your analysis of the texts contribute to your skillset?
It did not. But if it did, it would train creative muscles and make me find connections through critical thinking.
• What did you learn about the use of language to construct meaning?
It is effective. A descriptive text compels me to read, compared to a sterile text. The authors used language to their advantage in order to properly illuminate and project their experiences.
• What did you discover about comparative textual analysis?
It makes me think, even though I don't really want to. I uncovered different facets of the story that I wouldn't have discovered if I read it as a standalone piece because I am forced to reach out for similarities between two pieces of work that are relatively different at first glance.
• Did your observation of thoughts and beliefs help you to understand the texts better?
Yes. I understand that I have to step into the author's shoes to properly relate to the characters and plotlines. This can be done by research and introspection, but the important step is to first recognise the richness and complexity of the point of view of another person, as their perspectives do represent an entirely different culture and diversity of life.
• Did your understanding of the texts help you to understand yourself better?
Yes. By reading into the lives and thoughts of others, I understand my own identity more. I can better define what I am in comparison to other individuals, and as I recognise the uniqueness in others, I recognize the uniqueness of my own.
• What did you learn about resilience, state of mind, and academic performance?
Resilence works when a person is actively present in the attempts to shaping his/her life. We bring up these reflections in order to remember them. we need to remember our strengths, because we will forget them, our memories will constrict and deem them redundant if we do not recognize their importance. why? Because a muscle left without use will result in atrophy.
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