CMLT 2500: A Student's Perspective

Lesley Anne and I were talking the other day about how it would be cool if y'all could hear some reviews about the books I am teaching this semester from a student's perspective, not just mine. With this in mind, I asked both of my classes if anyone would be interested in writing a review of any of the books. After they learned they would not receive extra credit the enthusiasm died a little bit. But, lucky for you and me, someone stepped up to the plate. This student is one of my most astute when it comes to literature (and other things- she is a double major, English and Biology), and she is also a wonderful creative writer. I have to admit I was glad she was the one who decided to do this; I didn't want to trust the blog to just anyone. I enjoyed reading her thoughts and I think y'all will, too. So far we have read 5 novels in the class and she chose to give us her thoughts on 3. I have a feeling someone of you will like her reviews better than mine because she is much better at being succinct.

"Hello, I'm a student in Mrs. Medlin's CMLT 2500 class. I've really enjoyed all the assigned novels, and I would love to give my opinion on a few of the novels that, for me, have left an impression:

Maxine Hong Kingston's Woman Warrior: While I feel as if my class did not enjoy it or found it a confusing read, I think Woman Warrior shocked me in the best way possible. After I finished the first chapter called No Name Woman, I turned to my Chinese roommate and demanded to know if rights for Chinese women were as harsh as depicted, and she basically agreed. As an Asian woman and the child of emigrant parents, I found this book unbelievably relatable, especially Maxine's difficult relationship with her mother.

Although the novel is told in five very different chapters, I enjoyed how each story stood by itself, but had trouble connecting the five chapters.

Alexie Sherman's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian: I have read other works by Alexie Sherman and have been impressed by him. It is difficult to tell the story of a protagonist living in very unfortunate circumstances because the focus is on the journey of the character and not the wretchedness of his circumstances. I've always enjoyed novels where I can root for the main character, and this certainly was the case. I also enjoyed how this novel had simple vocabulary; I admire novels where my immigrant mother, little sisters, and I can understand and communicate the same ideas.

Junot Diaz's The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao: I adore this book. I remember how at first my class had already begun reading, but I did not have the book. So while waiting to borrow it from my friend, I began reading an online pdf file of the novel. That night, I finished half of the book. As of now, this is my third time racing the novel, and I wonder how have I made time to read the novel multiple times. I love reading about the women of the story. Belicia and Lola, as flawed and unfortunate in love as they are, are so strong- you can probably tell I admire strong women. But Oscar, he steals the scene. Who knew that pitiable, dorky Oscar would transform into a legend worth telling? His struggle with depression and self-worth mirrors the worst of times in us, but his transformation into the most true upholder of the ideals of love, the grandest you can imagine, has been a pleasure to read."




I told y'all she was a good writer. Hope you enjoyed hearing her thoughts on these works. We would love to hear your thoughts, too, if you have read these books. If not, you should go check them out. Pronto.

Jenny Reviews: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

 The Vitals
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Release Date: 12 September 2007
Page Count: 230
Genre: Fiction
Target Audience: Middle Grades/YA
Series: No
Source and Format: Purchased :: Paperback 

Summary (From Goodreads)
In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

Notes on Part-Time Indian
This is the third book we have read this semester and it was, by far, everyone's favorite. The protagonist is a 14 year old boy who is brutally honest and yet hopeful at the same time. He has a very unique voice- he lives on a reservation but is attending a white school in town so he can escape the never ending cycle of poverty his tribe is trapped in. He gives you way too much information at times, yet his unflinchingly honest portrayal of his tribe's reality flies in the face of most preconceived ideas one has about the current situation of Native Americans living on reservations. 

Junior, the main character, likes to draw comics and his drawings have been included in the book, which adds to the informal feeling of the narrative as well as providing lots of food for thought. My students really enjoyed analyzing the drawings to see what Junior was saying through them. 

For the response paper I had them write their own journal entry (or entries) about a situation in which they were "other" and they were SO GOOD. This is a contemporary novel and, as I said, very informal and my students seemed to love this. I would recommend this book to anyone (with the caveat that he does mention an... activity... that adolescent boys especially like). It gives a wonderful (and painful) glimpse into the realities of life on a reservation and poverty in general. 

It also explores issues of individual vs. community and identity. Yes, all of this in a YA book. This is the best kind of YA book, in my opinion. It is a book that will appeal to all ages. It is geared towards YA/Middle Grades so it is a causal writing style, but the narrative is surprisingly deep if one takes the time to process what they are reading, not just skim it for entertainment- though it is very entertaining as well!

Overall Diagnosis

Memorable Quotes
“I grabbed my book and opened it up. I wanted to smell it. Heck, I wanted to kiss it. Yes, kiss it. That's right, I am a book kisser. Maybe that's kind of perverted or maybe it's just romantic and highly intelligent.”

“When anybody, no matter how old they are, loses a parent, I think it hurts the same as if you were only five years old, you know? I think all of us are always five years old in the presence and absence of our parents.”

“I drew because words were too unpredictable."

CMLT 2500

As most of you know, I am a T.A. at the University of Georgia. I am working towards a M.A. in Comparative Literature. I really wish I had a dollar for every time I was asked to explain, what, exactly Comp Lit is. To be honest, it is a bit of a hazy concept. This, to me, is part of the beauty of Comp Lit; you can make it what you want. The official UGA Comp Lit page gives a very vague, fancy sounding answer that actually does not tell you a lot. My best explanation? You get to study literature without getting bogged down by tedious things like grammar- that's for the English department.

This semester I am teaching something a little lot out of my comfort zone- literature written after 1600. Sure, I like to read stuff written in this century, but that doesn't mean I want to teach it. Modern literature can be so subjective! Anyways, the official name of my class is Comparative Ethnic American Literature (have you noticed how good my department is at titles that don't actually give you a lot of information?). What does this mean? It is a class composed of books that are from different ethnic backgrounds but are all American. The protagonists in these books are working out their identities through their own cultural backgrounds. Which, really, is what we are all doing, every day of our lives. So far, the class has been going surprisingly well. I thought I would share with y'all these wonderful (thus far!) books that I would recommend for anyone.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok. Ethnicity: Jewish-American. This is a book about friendship between two boys in New York during WWII. The boys belong to different branches of Judaism, which is one area of tension the novel explores. Friendship, intelligence, suffering, and religion- this book packs a lot in 304 pages.

Sula by Toni Morrison. Ethnicity: African-American. This is a book about friendship between two girls in Ohio. It spans their lives, rather than just one specific period. A few issues explored- social norms, racism, poverty, parenting styles.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Ethnicity: Native-American. This book is about a boy who lives on a reservation but goes to school in the nearby town. There are neat illustrations in this book, adding a new dimension to the story. Some issues- poverty, alcoholism, racism, friendship.

The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston. Ethnicity: Chinese-American. I have not started reading this book yet, but it is more autobiographical than the others (with the possible exception of The Absolutely True Diary). Kingston weaves traditional Chinese folktales in with her own personal stories.

The Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. Ethnicity: Dominican-American. This is a story about a boy who wants to be the next J.R.R. Tolkien- what is not to love about that?! I have not started this one either but I have been wanting to read it for a while.

Fledgling Octavia Butler. This book is the one I am ending the semester with and it is a....wait for it.... vampire book. Yes, that kind of vampire. It explores issues of family, belonging, and experimental genetic mutation.

So, as you can see, it is going to be a very interesting semester. We are almost done with The Chosen. I will be putting up an official review on here in couple days. What is your favorite book exploring ethnic diversity? If you were teaching this class, what would your syllabus look like?