First section: "Prologue" through "Barn Swallows" |
Respond to Williams' argument that men's treatment of women results from the same kind of warping of the spirit that causes officials to subjugate the land. (You may want to focus on just one of her topics--the relationship in this society between men and women OR the use of natural resources by humans in general or political institutions in particular.) Assert your opinion in a topic sentence and then offer evidence to support the way you feel. OR Respond to these questions: What problems do you find are making it difficult for you or the people you love to conduct daily life and/or to pursue long-term goals? What makes each problem a problem? What is causing the problem? If the problem is personal, is it connected to the larger world? How? |
Second section: "Peregrine Falcon" through "Yellow-headed Blackbirds" |
Explain which of Williams' analogies seem especially true and appropriate to you, discussing your reasons in detail. What values do those analogies express? (In other words, what do they show about the values you hold to be true and good?) What about the natural world that carries symbolic value for you personally? Could you express those values in an analogy? OR Williams' quests for truth by paying close attention to the natural world?
Describe your quest for a particular truth and explain what you have
discovered. |
Third section: "Bald Eagles" through "Birds of Paradise" |
| In this section, Williams explores the relationship between her
religious faith as a motivation for getting work done in the world. How have
your values helped you determine what work YOU want to get done in the world
for the good of yourself AND others. What have you done, are you doing, or you
do you plan to do to commit yourself to transforming your piece of the world? |
Fourth section: "Pintails, Mallards and Teals" through "The Clan of One-Breasted Women" |
| Explain how a person or place you've known well has been affected by a
personal, political, or natural disaster? Who or what was responsible for the
situation? What were the issues involved? How could the problem have been
rectified? OR In "Pintails, Mallards and Teals," Williams talks about the way she is
rewriting her genealogy to acknowledge that nature itself is the "mother" of
her true self. If you were writing your spiritual or psychological
genealogy what mother/father or "ancestors" would you claim? Why? |
ONLY ONE CHOICE: Present a practical solution to a problem that affects you, your family, or your community. Use at least eight sources including two interviews to help prove that the problem is a problem and to show that your solution is feasible. Be sure to anticipate concerns or disagreements that readers may have with your view of the situation. Keep copies of your interview notes and make print-outs of all websites or articles that you are using as sources since you MUST turn them in with your paper. |
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