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English 121: Humanities Literature — Assignment: Written Response 1 for Balzac

Assignment Questions

After reading Part I (pp. 1-41) of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, type a Written Response to the reading by answering these questions (it’s probably easiest to copy and paste the questions below into Microsoft Word):

  1. Discuss in a couple paragraphs one thing Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress has made you think/wonder about (2 full paragraphs).
  2. The two friends have been sent to an isolated place to be “re-educated.” Where have they been sent? What’s the name of the place. What is “re-education”?
  3. How would you react if President Bush decided to create a re-education program for our country’s young people as a way to prevent them from developing terrorist beliefs?
  4. The two boys use an alarm clock to make their life in the village more bearable. How do they do this? More importantly, why do you think the author tells us about the alarm clock? What point is he trying to make? Defend your answer.
  5. On page 20, the author says, “The only thing Lou was really good at was telling stories.” How is Lou’s storytelling ability put to use? What point do you think the author is trying to make about storytelling? Defend your answer.
  6. The mountain has only one tailor. The narrator and Lou visit this tailor’s house and meet his daughter. While there, the narrator finds something unusual on a table. What does he find? Why is it unusual? Why is the narrator interested in the object? As with the last two questions, why do you think the author discusses this object? What point is he trying to raise? Defend your answer.

Response Paper Formatting Requirements

  • Use this title: “Written Response 1 for Balzac”
  • Be sure to put your full name, your email address, the date, and English 121 on the paper in the upper right hand corner.
  • Your Written Response must be word processed (typed)–do NOT hand write it or you will lose some points
  • Staple your response if it is more than one page.
  • Double space your response
  • Use a 12 point standard font
  • Copy and paste the questions into your response. Then type your answer to each question after the appropriate number. You are not writing a paper, you are just writing answers to these questions. Think of this assignment as a take-home, open book quiz.