"Hao" and "The Effect of Heat..."

"Hao":

The first word after the title is "1966." May 1966 was the start of The Cultural Revolution in China. Did you know about this? How does the story use this real historical event? What is the significance of the fact that Qingxin's former students are now beating her up and drove her husband, also a teacher, to suicide? Why did Mao want the Red Guard to persecute intellectuals? (I'm not so much interested in you researching this question. I'm more interested in why you think this persecution happened.)

The events of this story take place about two months after the start of the Cultural Revolution. I'm struck by the speed w/ which society was transformed. Can you make any links between this event and our current health crisis?

This story is for an English-speaking audience. What is the significance of the Chinese characters?

This is a very bleak story. Is there any hope here? Where? Where have you found hope in the past few days? Try to watch these videos of Italians singing out of their open windows w/ a dry eye:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/world/europe/italians-find-a-moment-of-joy-in-this-moment-of-anxiety.html

Why is the story titled "Hao"? Why does it end the way it does?

"The Effect of Heat on Poor People":

Why is it titled this? Kamil is writing an article about this, but I wonder, who are the poor people? He seems to be writing about others. What about Kamil and Saba? Are they the middle class?

Is the baby real? Why do you think Saba fantasizes about living alone w/ the adult child away from Kamil?

What does the story seem to say about love in marriage?

Like the other story, this too, is bleak. What rays of light, if any, exist in the story?

The moment where Kamil strikes Saba seems to be a turning point. How does this change things for them?

How did you react to the conclusion of the story?

As you work on your own writing this week, I'd like you to think about a couple of the techniques in "Hao": 1) Like I said above, what's so striking to me is how quickly things changed here. This is not sci-fi, but history. We're living through history now. Don't be afraid to write about how our lives are changing w/ the pandemic. These are scary times, but writing can help us understand what's going on. It's therapeutic and calming. Writing offers a kind of control. And 2) Ye Chun uses a foreign language in a way that's accessible to English readers. I know that some of you, or your parents, speak another language at home. Experiment w/ incorporating your birth language into your writing. Even if you don't speak another language, you speak slang, a private language that you and your peers share. Try to incorporate that.

One final note on the blog. Starting this week, you'll be required to make at least four entries, at least two of them in response to your classmates. Too many of you have only made entries during class time. This is a real problem, esp. since this is now worth 30% of your final grade. It's very important that you not only make these entries but that you read all of your classmates'. This is a huge part of what used to be class participation so you need to be active here for the remainder of the term.

Finally if you haven't already, don't forget to upload your midterm Collection to Blackboard by the end of the day on Thurs, 3/19. If you can't meet that deadline or have technical difficulties, please contact me.  

For those who need extra support w/ technology, check out this: https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/oet/AcademicContinuity-Students.html

Be safe.