Monthly Archives: May 2021

In the story, I believe Talib was conveying that even though tradition is an important, respected part of society, it will imminently be affected by modernity. In the story, Talib talks about all of the inconvenient ways of life in his village. He makes it clear that it is not easy to live there, and has many unpleasant aspects. But in this underdeveloped neighborhood, the Doum tree is the most respected and cherished part of their culture. This can especially be seen as people speak about having dreams of Wad Hamid and the Doum tree, and also the woman’s report of being healed because of the tree. But although the tree is very important to the village, which can be seen by the villagers relentlessly defending it against government officials who sought to cut it down, the Doum tree was eventually affected by modernity. This is seen when the government officials manage to block off the tree, in an attempt to memorialize it. The effect of modernity was also seen in how the narrator’s children ended up leaving the village to live in the city. This just goes to show that no matter to what extent a certain tradition is protected abd preserved, the effect of modernity will affect it one way or another.

What do you think Tayeb Salih’s story is ultimately saying about the relationship between tradition and modernity? 

In my opinion, ultimately Tayeb Salih’s is trying to say that the relationship between tradition and modernity is that modernity means letting go of the doum tree which has played a very significant role in their tradition. “The doum tree of Wad Hamid; and just as no one remembers how it originated and grew…” signifying that the tree has always been there in the village and represents their tradition. However, there also seems to be a a generational gap as youngsters are going to school, hospital, cinemas and the importance of tradition seems to be fading away.

What do you think Tayeb Salih’s story is ultimately saying about the relationship between tradition and modernity?

The relationship between tradition and modernity does not need to be either or. As the elder suggested “ what all these people have overlooked is that there’s plenty of room for all these things”(pg 824). There is room for both tradition and modernity, it’s just a matter of the needs of the people. I think that the elder is suggesting that it takes time when it comes to advancing towards a modern society and that it’s inevitable. The elder suggests that when tradition does not hold the same amount of values for the people, they will eventually leave the tradition behind. Tradition provided value for the people by giving people that needed them, such as old beliefs and faith. But perhaps for the generations to come such as the elder’s son, those beliefs and faith loses its value. It is then when modernity’s value increases, such as science. But ultimately we do not need to force people to convert necessarily, we just have to provide enough time for them to come around. Eventually with enough time what was once modern will become traditional and the cycle begins again.

1. Final Zoom Session: We will be holding our final Zoom session of the semester on Monday, May 17th.  We will be discussing Isabel Allende’s “And of Clay Are We Created” and wrapping up the semester!   This is a mandatory session.
2. Isabel Allende, “And of Clay are We Created” – Allende’s story, based on a real-life volcanic eruption that took place in Colombia in 1985, takes a clear-eyed look at how we process disaster and  its attendant human suffering.   In a brief (300-400 word) response, connect your reading of “And of Clay are We Created” to  your own life experience, perhaps focusing on the pandemic or thinking about other disasters that have occurred during your lifetime.   Some questions worth pursuing might be:  How do we connect or respond to suffering – whether nearby or far away?  What role do screens play in our experience of this pandemic or of other disasters?  What do they make possible, and what do they obstruct?  What role do politicians and government have in managing disasters?  What role do the media play in how we experience tragedies?     Please refer to specific elements of Allende’s story in formulating your response.   Please share your response on the blog by May 17th.
3. Final Essays: As you know, your essays are due on Wednesday, May 19th by midnight. Please submit your finished essay to me by sharing it as a google doc with [email protected].    If you are intending to share any materials with me while working on the essay, please be aware that Monday would be the last day to get any feedback from me!
4. Office Hours: Because of our final class, I will not be holding my regular office hour on Monday.  Please reach out to me via email or Slack if you would like to make an appointment to meet with me or if you have any questions as you complete these final weeks of the semester.
5. Final Exam: As I announced earlier, your final exam will be posted to the blog by 8 am on Monday, May 24th and will be due by the end of the day on Tuesday, May 25th.  Because of the tight turnaround to submit your final grades, I will not be accepting any late submissions of the final exam, so plan accordingly.
6. Course Evaluations:. If you haven’t already done so, please take a few minutes to complete your course evaluation for English 2850.  Student feedback is important to me!!!  (Rest assured that I will not see your evaluations until after I have submitted my final grades.)

“Are we good people?” asks our narrator. What is this exchange about? What do you think?
I think they want to say if we are good people, why should we treat like animals? We must do something to worry so we deserve that.

Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way for the Gas, Ladies, and Gentlemen.” What seems strange about it?
It seems like the Gestapo says to the victims to go this way. But that is not the exit but the death. In the concentration camps, death means to release and freedom for the captures.

How does one organize an essay about two different texts?

To begin, let me state the obvious:  Before you begin to draft your essay, you MUST have a plan!  It doesn’t matter whether your plan is a traditional outline or just a list of body paragraph ideas, but you need to sketch out the structure of your essay before you begin to write.

When I write a paper, I start by collecting the “textual evidence” that I want to use (all the quotations and examples from the text that address my question).  Then I sort the evidence into different paragraphs, based on the idea that each piece of evidence illustrates or supports.  Then I decide what order of paragraphs would be most effective.  This means that before I begin writing my first draft I already know what idea each body paragraph will be exploring, what textual evidence I will be including in each body paragraph, and what order I will be presenting my ideas in.

For your final essays, you have two different possible paths for organizing your body paragraphs:  The Sequential Option and The Alternating Option.  I describe both below.  The alternating option is slightly more challenging to execute.  It works best when you discover that your texts are very closely aligned and that the ideas you have about one text hold true for the other text as well.  Do not “mix and match.”  Choose one of these structures, and stick with it!  These examples each have three ideas.  I just stopped at three because that was enough to make my point; I would imagine that you would have at least three ideas for each of the texts you’re writing about.  By “ideas,” I mean claims about the text that respond to your over-arching question.  Each of these ideas gets its own body paragraph.  You will notice that in both options, only the introduction and conclusion discuss the two texts together in a single paragraph.  Each body paragraph focuses on a single text.

The Sequential Option 

1.Introduction:  Lays out your question in relation to both Text A and Text B

2. Text A – Idea #1

3. Text A – Idea #2

4. Text A – Idea #3

5. Text B – Idea #1

6. Text B – Idea #2

7. Text B- Idea #3

8. Conclusion – Brings together Texts A and B, recaps the argument you have made in the body of your paper, and provides an answer to the “so what?” question.  What are the implications of what you have shown us in this essay? What do we learn from it?

The Alternating Option

1.Introduction – Lays out your question in relation to both Text A and Text B

2. Text A – Idea #1

3. Text B – Idea #1

4. Text A – Idea #2

5. Text B – Idea #2

6. Text A – Idea #3

7. Text B- Idea #3

8. Conclusion – Brings together Texts A and B, recaps the argument you have made in the body of your paper, and provides an answer to the “so what?” question.  What are the implications of what you have shown us in this essay? What do we learn from it?

What did you learn from this story that you did not previously know about life in Nazi concentration camps?

I think the most surprising thing I’ve learned is that some camp prisoners are allowed to have different kinds of food, specifically kinds of food looted from new prisoners. On page 696, the prisoner is in the middle of “unwrap the bacon, the onion, we open a can of evaporated milk.” I had always thought that the prisoners were either fed with inhuman food or starved to death. Even though prisoners are allowed to eat looted food, somehow it makes the already egregious act of concentration camps more vile. I can’t imagine what the prisoners are feeling but it feels like they are being conditioned to be happy when new prisoners are arriving at these camps because it means they get to have decent meals. It is one thing to commit genocide by killing but it is another when they strip these prisoners of their humanity.

Explain the significance of the story’s title, “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.”  What seems strange about it?

There seems to be some element of irony in the title. If we did not know any better, we would think that dying by suffocation in a gas chamber is the worst possible ending for a precious human life. But for these prisoners it’s actually eerily comforting, knowing that they will not have to suffer any more in the concentration camp. The last thing the prisoners will know is that they think that they are taking a shower. All the people who are sent directly to the gas chambers will know no more evil. They all have suffered immensely by being dragged from their houses, crammed into a train like they are livestock going to the slaughter house. The gas chambers will free them, they will not have to be slaves, they will not have to starve, they will not have to walk around naked, and most importantly they will not have to be stripped of their humanity anymore. 

1. What did you learn from this story that you did not previously know about life in Nazi concentration camps?

It made me gain more insights on everyday life of prisoners and the horrors they faced. It was interesting and horrifying to read about the events that occurred within the concentration camps.

1. Describe an example of dehumanization in the text.  What about this moment made a particularly strong impression on you? Why?

An example of dehumanization was “Several others men are carrying a small girl with only one leg. They hold her by the arms and the one leg. Tears are running down her face and she whispers faintly: “Sir, it hurts, it hurts..,” They throw her on the truck on top of corpses. She will burn alive along with them.” It shows the violence and how badly people were treated in the camp. It’s extremely sad to see how badly innocent people were treated and this text shows how these S.S guards didn’t even perceive them as humans by the way they are treating them.