Making Connections

  1. In “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell observes, “In a job like that you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters. The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been flogged with bamboos—all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt” (para. 2). In “The Wretched of the Earth,” Frantz Fanon writes, “When you examine at close quarters the colonial context, it is evident that what parcels out the world is to begin with the fact of belonging to or not belonging to a given race, a given species” (para. 4). A reader cannot help noticing these writers’ common subject and even common language. Compare the ways that Orwell and Fanon respond to the wretched of the earth seen at close quarters.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 13 - Making Connections: In “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell observes, “In a job like that you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters. The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been flogged with bamboos—all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt” (para. 2). In “The Wretched of the Earth,” Frantz Fanon writes, “When you examine at close quarters the colonial context, it is evident that what parcels out the world is to begin with the fact of belonging to or not belonging to a given race, a given species” (para. 4). A reader cannot help noticing these writers’ common subject and even common language. Compare the ways that Orwell and Fanon respond to the wretched of the earth seen at close quarters.
  2. You have read Red Jacket’s defense of Native American religion in his response to a Boston missionary society. Imagine what Red Jacket’s response might have been to King Ferdinand’s letter if it had been addressed to him. Write a paragraph of Red Jacket’s likely response.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 13 - Making Connections: You have read Red Jacket’s defense of Native American religion in his response to a Boston missionary society. Imagine what Red Jacket’s response might have been to King Ferdinand’s letter if it had been addressed to him. Write a paragraph of Red Jacket’s likely response.
  3. A writer’s diction can reveal a great deal about his or her perspective and attitude toward the subject. Consider the way that four writers in the Conversation—Christopher Columbus, King Ferdinand, Eavan Boland, and the author of the Christiansted tourist brochure—use the word possession. For each of the four selections, explain what the word means in context and how it reveals the author’s attitudes. Then, recognizing the vast differences in periods represented, discuss the similarities among the four.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 13 - Making Connections: A writer’s diction can reveal a great deal about his or her perspective and attitude toward the subject. Consider the way that four writers in the Conversation—Christopher Columbus, King Ferdinand, Eavan Boland, and the author of the Christiansted tourist brochure—use the word possession. For each of the four selections, explain what the word means in context and how it reveals the author’s attitudes. Then, recognizing the vast differences in periods represented, discuss the similarities among the four.
  4. Imagine that George Orwell, Chinua Achebe, Eavan Boland, or Frantz Fanon were to visit the Virgin Islands and come upon the Christiansted tourist brochure. How might each writer react? How might each one respond? In the voice of one of them, write a brief letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior, explaining the writer’s view regarding the brochure.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 13 - Making Connections: Imagine that George Orwell, Chinua Achebe, Eavan Boland, or Frantz Fanon were to visit the Virgin Islands and come upon the Christiansted tourist brochure. How might each writer react? How might each one respond? In the voice of one of them, write a brief letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior, explaining the writer’s view regarding the brochure.
  5. Achebe’s essay concludes with the words of Marlow, the narrator of Joseph Conrad’s famous novel, Heart of Darkness: “Well, you know, that was the worst of it—this suspicion of their not being inhuman.” Which selections in the Conversation address this “suspicion”? Explain how they do so.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 13 - Making Connections: Achebe’s essay concludes with the words of Marlow, the narrator of Joseph Conrad’s famous novel, Heart of Darkness: “Well, you know, that was the worst of it—this suspicion of their not being inhuman.” Which selections in the Conversation address this “suspicion”? Explain how they do so.