English 272M                        Assignment on Ka`a`awa

Hershinow

                                                 Suggested Length:                  1000-1500 Words

                                                 Rough Draft:                          Bring to Class Wed. Oct. 28

                                                 Due Date:                               Wednesday, November 4

 

Process and self-assessment cover sheet. Attach a paragraph or two in which you discuss the paperŐs strengths and weaknesses: What were the particular challenges the paper presented and how did you go about meeting them? With what degree of success?

 

Be sure to have an appropriate title.

 

OPTION 1—Essay

          Using Ka`a`awa as your point of reference, examine to what extent the Native Hawaiians were either victims or agents of change.

 

OPTION 2—Essay

          Examine the ways in which Ka`a`awa provides insight into one of the course themes: the importance of place; storytelling; identity; assimilation and alienation; colonialism and post-colonialism; conflicting cultural norms and ideals; insiders and outsiders; the response of Pacific Island societies to a changing world. We suggest that you start by thinking of something specific about Ka`a`awa that really caught your attention—a specific character, scene, issue, plot development, literary technique, or message —and start working from there as you think about how it contributes to one of the course themes. Try to keep the focus on just one of the course themes, even though others overlap and will likely be touched on.

 

OPTION 3—Essay

          Explore the paradox inherent in Ka`a`awa as a historical novel. How does this work of fiction shed light on historical events and circumstances? Is it reliable?         

 

NOTE: For options 1, 2, and 3 you can write either a persuasive paper or more of an exploratory paper (or some combination of the two). The difference is that with a persuasive essay your purpose is to argue for a particular interpretation by establishing an idea and persuading readers with plenty of supporting evidence and logical argumentation.  In an exploratory paper your purpose is rather to look at all the many possible aspects of the idea, cultivating different points of view, examining all the contradictory elements, and then arriving at a conclusion.

 

Audience:  No matter which option you choose, you can assume that your readers have already read the novel, so you are to give interpretation and analysis, not plot summary. Do not, of course, assume that your readers know your assignment; the paper will have to speak for itself. Give specific examples including at least 3 direct quotations.

 

Format: Essays should be double-spaced using 12-point font and 1Ó or 1 ½Ó margins.

 

GRADING CRITERA: In judging the success of option 1 and 2 papers we will be looking at:

a) idea—analysis, interpretation, insight, aptness, freshness

                      b) support—reasoning, evidence

                      c) organization—follow-through, focus

                      d) style—clarity, emphasis, interest, language, voice, transitions

                      e) mechanics—grammar, spelling, punctuation, proofreading.

These items will not necessarily carry equal weight.

 

OPTION 4--Dialogue

          Set up a situation in which two or more people with differing views about Ka`a`awa are having a conversation about the merits of the novel. For example, one person might be a Native Hawaiian activist who considers Ozzie Bushnell to be another haole outsider usurping the voice of native Hawaiians. The other might be a history or English professor. Or you might set up a dialogue between yourself and one or two of your classmates.

 

OPTION 5--Dialogue

          Create an imaginary situation in which you are having a conversation with Hiram Nihoa or Saul Bristol. (Or you can have Ozzie Bushnell talking with Hiram or Saul). You don't need to explain how fictional characters or a dead author can be there in the flesh. Just start the conversation going and assume that your reader will be able to make the imaginative leap.

 

If you choose to write a dialogue, be sure to:

 

          a) Make very clear what the exact situation is, probably in an introductory paragraph;

                b) Provide some give and take in which the people express their opinions about K`a`a`awa and the themes of the course.

 

The paper will read much like a script for a scene from a play or a transcript of an interview.

 

You should feel free to use whatever style of speech seems most appropriate for the situation and characters you create.

 

Note: For option 4 or 5 itŐs fine to go beyond 1500 words.

 

GRADING CRITERIA: For options 2 and 3 we are especially interested in:

          a) The liveliness, imagination, and clarity of the situation and dialog;

          b) Your ability to connect with the substance and techniques of the novel and the course;

          c) The overall style and organization of the paper;

          d) Your handling of mechanics: grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

These elements do not necessarily carry equal weight.

 

PROCESS OF COMPOSITION: By the time you begin drafting your paper you should already have done a lot of informal writing and thinking about the novel in class and at home. Writing is a messy business, and no two people do it quite the same.  What follows is a general process that works for many people. 

 

                             ESL students (and perhaps others) should be able to get help from the Kahikoluamea learning center (Iliahi building) at any stage in the process.

 

                 Starting.  Review the novel keeping in mind the topic you will be writing on. Reread your travelogue entries. Talk with people, freewrite, doodle--let the ideas incubate. 

 

                 Organizing.  Write down on a clean piece of paper the main points in the exploration as you discover them.  Decide on the issue or problem you want to be your focus.  Make note of specific incidents or passages that support the main ideas.  Compose a statement of the main idea of your paper or the question you want to find an answer to. Decide what order to present the main points in.

 

                 Composing.  Only now are you ready to begin writing.  For this first draft, don't worry too much about mechanics.  Just try to develop and support the ideas as clearly and convincingly as you can.

 

                 Revising.  This can be thought of as re-visioning.  After you have finished writing the first draft, let it sit for a day or two, then begin revising to make it clearer, more convincing, and smoother.  This stage may involve rereading and rethinking, searching the text for supporting evidence, developing and supporting your ideas, getting feedback from classmates.  You might literally cut your paper apart and rearrange parts of it.  Read it out loud to someone else to see how clear it is.  If it satisfies you, move on to final editing.  If it still seems lacking, revise some more.

 

Editing.  Go through the paper paying special attention to matters of fine tuning—clarifying and sharpening, combining, condensing, making sure of the examples, and correcting the spelling, punctuation, and grammar.