Importance of the Priests

We see in The House Made of Dawn the representations of two forms of priests one in Father Olguin and the other in the form of Tosamah, the priest of the sun. I would argue that both are ways to remember the past. They each tell stories from the past and try to be a central uniting force. In a way I would say it is bringing two separate beliefs systems and molding into one??? Thoughts? What implications or importance might this have in Abel's life? Can he be at home in both of these preachers ways?

Questions for Monday's lecture

It's imperative for you to examine these questions this weekend. Wednesday's lecture was a disappointment for Prof. Schaub because he expected more participation from the class. His expectation is that you will be able to respond to these questions in writing during Monday's lecture:

1. Is Abel healed? What the signs of this healing? What does it mean
in his culture to be healed?

2. What is a Night Chanter? Google "Night Chant" to see what you can
find out. Why does Momaday title this subsection "The Night Chanter"?

3. The book is full of races and running. What is the significance of
running in this novel?

4. What does it mean, in this novel, to be "beautiful"?

And while you are reading, don't forget to enjoy the sentences
themselves. The novel is lyrical, poetic.

Emotion

In House Made of Dawn there are a lot of emotions thrown about throughout the story. Every character, whether minor or not, has some sort of emotion that is brought out during the story. Why is this? Why are emotions such a large part of the book?

Sound

Per Sona:

In House Made of Dawn, Francisco hears different sound in different time and place, and it reveal other character's characteristic. For example, we can suspect that Abel is from different place, modern place, because Francisco hears very unique and distinct sound which is very new from him. This cause me to think that why Momaday choose sound to show difference between Francisco and Abel. I also want to know how and why Abel and Francisco's worldviews differ.

Juan Reyes the Albino

In the July 25th chapter in House Made of Dawn, at the feast of Santiago, Juan Reyes the Albino man is introduced. On page 39 in the yellow book he is described: " Then he faced her, and Angela saw that under his hat the pale and yellow hair was cut close to the scalp; the tight skin of the head was visible and pale and pink. The face was huge and mottled pink and white, and the thick open lips were blue and violet." Angela seems to be describing Juan as a type of beast or monster. Later on in this chapter as Father Olguin reads from an old journal, the priest who wrote in the journal reports he was at Juan's birth and he describes him in almost the way Angela described him and then orders Juan to be baptised right away as if he was some sort of devil figure who immediately needed to be purified.

What do you think the significance of Juan is in this chapter? Does he represent the inability of the whites and the Christian faith to except differences? Do you think Juan will be present in the rest of the story?

FLASHBACKS

Professor Schaube gave the position today that there are various aspects of modern writing in The House Made of Dawn. I would also support this, citing Momaday's use of flashbacks as a way of showing some relation in time. Francisco passes certain natural places and it triggers a memory of the races from his youth. Abel's viewing of the eagle also takes him back to another time. I believe these uses of time distinction provide for a modern device. Do you believe Momaday's novel has aspects of modern writing? If not why? What other aspects of the novel show modern writing or disprove it?

Second Paper Assignment

Due in section on Friday, April 27th

Answers must be:

§ Between 1250-1750 words (5-7 pages)

§ Typed in 12pt, double-spaced, Times New Roman font, and in paragraph form.

§ No generalizations about the novel in the first paragraph (as in, “The novel was a literary work that had an enormous impact on people.”)

§ A minimum of 2 close readings are required.

Choose one of the following topics for your essay. Answer most, but not all, questions posed in the topic. You will need to take an argumentative stance and close read at least two passage as supporting evidence for your view. Although you may apply what you have learned from section and from lectures, do NOT choose a phrase, passage, or image that Prof. Schaub or I have addressed extensively:

1. Using Native Son, A Raisin in the Sun, Goodbye, Columbus, or House Made of Dawn choose a pairing or pattern of interesting details and make a case for its importance, in terms of the text. Why is this pairing or pattern significant? Beyond being cool or notable, how does it help us understand the underlying meanings of the text? To answer these questions – and to complete your analysis – you should explore what ideas the author conveys through this particular pairing or pattern. What argument seems to lie behind it? What point does the author use it to make? You cannot address any of the imagery from the midterm exam or Prof. Schaub’s lectures.

2. “It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness,--an American, a Negro; two warring souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”-W.E.B. DuBois The Souls of Black Folk (1903)

   Discuss DuBois’s theory of double-consciousness (as articulated in this quote. No outside research is necessary) in relation to either Bigger from Native Son or a character of your choice from A Raisin in the Sun. Your paper should include close readings of both the above quote and scenes from your chosen text.
3. Choose a relationship among two or more characters within the same novel and discuss how their relationship provides significance to the themes of the home, class consciousness, gender difference, or personal development (choose only one of these themes). Write an analysis of this theme and its differences, changes and/or developments in A Raisin in the Sun, Goodbye, Columbus, or House Made of Dawn (choose only one of these texts).