Conduct some brief research on Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. Who did Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam attract and why? Do you think Baldwin’s critique of the Nation of Islam is warranted? Why or why not?

Baldwin does not use a lot of big, complex words in his language, but his words are still quite powerful. Baldwin is also known for being irreverent and even almost insulting in the his rhetoric. Considering these points, what struck you most about pp. 15-27 of “The Fire Next Time”? Try to pinpoint exactly what it is about his writing that resonates with you the most. If you do not feel it, discuss what is off-putting about his rhetoric.

1. What does the child in the room represent?
2. What is the moral or theme of the story?

Conduct some research on a James Joyce and explain why you think he created a character like Eveline in this story. Give some examples of things that Eveline does in the story and discuss what might have motivated Joyce to have Eveline do these things.

What did you take away from Andy Marino’s talk? Please feel free to respond how you’d like. Feel free to consider the following questions in crafting your response:

• How did his talk affect your approach to your short fiction story writing assignment?
• How did his talk affect the way in which you perceive professional writers?
• Did you find his talk inspirational or not? If so, what parts of the talk stood out to you?
• What do you think of the idea of Andy reading/assessing your work?
• Do you feel that guest speakers like Andy are a good addition to writing/English classes at Baruch?

Your response should be at least eight sentences long.

Think of a physical object from a story you’ve read or a movie you’ve seen that has held some level of symbolic importance. What was the object and what story/movie was it from? What did it symbolize? Why was it so important to the story?